you're my downfall
by MissingMommy
Summary: 28 CharlieDraco meet cutes, all AUs. :: Bonus: Charlie isn't surprised when the bank is robbed and he's held hostage because his luck is terrible. He is surprised to what happens after.
1. Hot jogger

This isn't what Charlie had planned for the day. At all. He planned for a quick five kilometer run, followed by a shower, then lunch with his coworker, before family dinner at his parent's.

Instead of a nice, quiet jog, he hears the sound of a car crash over his music. He pulls his headphones out of his ears as he looks around for the crash. He only has to face the street to see where a sports car has rear-ended the car in front of it.

Charlie slips his phone from the arm band and promptly calls 999. He checks both ways before he crosses the road. The driver of the first car is grumbling as they get out of their car. He turns his attention to the second driver, who still hasn't attempted to get out of their car.

He's surprised that the car door isn't bent out of shape, since the front end of the sports car is in ruins. He opens the door. The blond driver is unconscious, and Charlie's training kicks in. He checks for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when it's a strong, steady beat.

He doesn't have time to do more when the EMTs show up with the ambulances. They give him a confused look when they recognize him.

"Some freaky coincidence," he explains, as he moves back to give them room. "He's got a stable pulse. I didn't get further than that."

Within a few short minutes, the EMTs have the blond on a stretcher and are loading him into the ambulance. Charlie doesn't hesitate in climbing in the back. He doesn't have to; it's not his job, but there's something about the blond. He needs to know he'll be okay.

* * *

St Mungo's coffee is somehow worse than the firehouse coffee, which is a wonder in and of itself because firehouse coffee is terrible. He's debating another cup when he hears moving.

He glances up at the other man. Draco looks so much like his father that Charlie would have to live under a rock not to know him. It definitely explained the flashy sport car.

Draco shifts, and then groans.

"Back in the land of the living, are we?" Charlie asks amused.

Obviously startled, the blond snaps his attention towards Charlie. He can tell when the memory of what happens hits Draco; his eye widen and the heart monitor quickens.

"Well, it seems like your memory is intact. The doctors are worried about a concussion," Charlie says.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

The redhead shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck. "I couldn't quite help myself, really. I heard the crash, and I went to make sure everyone was okay. The other driver is fine, but you were unconscious. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I—Thanks," Draco says, clearing his throat.

"So, how'd you end up crashing?"

A blush creeps up his cheeks, sputtering before falling quiet. When Charlie meets the his eyes, he can see that he's torn between the telling the truth or not.

"Come on, it can't be that bad," Charlie says, rolling his eyes as he all but dares the man to explain himself.

Draco shifts, looking defiantly at the redhead. Then he looks at Charlie with a steely resolve, but his blush doesn't go away. "You."

"Excuse me?"

"I got hypnotised by you. I mean, who wouldn't when you're—" he gestures to Charlie. "I obviously didn't know that the car stopped until I hit it."

Charlie can't help it; he laughs. "Well, that's definitely a first."

"Surprising, given that shirt," Draco retorts.

"What? There's nothing wrong with my shirt!" he exclaims, affronted, glancing down to examine it himself. His white shirt has long since dried from his sweat.

The blond raises his eyebrow at Charlie. "You seriously see nothing wrong with your shirt?"

Charlie frowns. "No?"

Draco changes tactics. "What is it that you do? It looks like you could cut glass with your abs. Not that it's impressive or anything."

"Clearly," Charlie agrees, amused. He can't quite fight the blush spreading across his cheeks. "I'm a firefighter. I also happen to be free tomorrow night."

"That'll be acceptable," the blond says, a smirk playing on his lips.

He hands Draco his phone. "Put your number in and we can decide what to do later. As much as I would be happy to stay here, I have a family dinner to go to."

The other man takes his phone and punches in his contact information. He offers the phone back with a "see you."

Charlie walks out of the emergency room with a grin. Then he groans as he realizes that his car is still at the firehouse. It'll be a long trip, but getting into the ambulance earlier was the best decision he's made in a while.

* * *

 **Scavenger hunt: Write about Your OTP**

Meet cute

Serpent day: Urutu- (setting) St. Mungo's

Gobstones: red stone - health; accuracy - (word) shape, power - (word) memory, technique - (song) "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John [so don't misunderstand me/ you put the light in my life/ you put the sparks to the flames/ I've got your heart in my sights]

Character Appreciation: (Location) St Mungo's

Disney challenge: The Sultan - Word Set: Hypnotised/short/happy

Book club: Dayna Jurgens - (action) flirting, (object) glass, (word) defiance

Showtime: No Good Deed - (word) Attention

Buttons: headphones, dare, Brave by Sara Bareilles [but I wonder what would happen if you/ say what you wanna say/ and let the words fall out/ Honestly I wanna see you be brave]

Insane: 215 - AU - Muggle

365: 354. Word - Memory

Liza's Love: Ward 8 - Write about someone in a hospital/institution ward

Writing month: 808


	2. Pick up line

When Charlie wakes to the almost constant clapping of thunder and sees the streaks of lightning, he is sure that it's going to be a terrible day. He trudges through the pouring rain to the coffee shop, grumbling the entire time. He shakes the water off his mustard yellow umbrella as he enters the building.

There are a few people in the cafe when he drops his umbrella in the stand. Tonks is behind the counter, her green apron covering her front. She flashes him a smile as he approaches. "Seems like it's not gonna let up any time soon."

"It's the perfect day to sleep," he says, slipping on his own apron.

Whatever Tonks is going to say is cut off by the jingle of the door. A man with blond hair walks in. He walks with a clear air of arrogance. He looks like a sin with long legs and angelic features; he's Charlie's type down to a T and Charlie wants.

"It's raining men— _hallelujah_ ," he says under his breath. He hears Tonks snort behind him.

The blond comes up to the cash register. Charlie barely gets a chance to greet him before he's rambling off a complicated order. Charlie writes the order and the name on the cup and has Tonks finish checking him out as he goes to make the order.

Without considering the consequences, Charlie scrawls, " _Are you a god? Because I'd worship you_ ," followed by his phone number on the cup before making the drink.

He calls Draco's name and offers him the frap. The blond takes the cup from him and sips it. Apparently, he deems it acceptable because he doesn't demand a remake.

It's slow enough that Charlie can watch him as he takes a seat at one of the tables. He can tell the exact moment Draco realizes there's something written on his drink. The blond lightly blushes as he reads it, then snaps his attentions to Charlie. He just winks at the other man.

Tonks elbows him in the ribs when he fails to notice another customer. After the drink is made, Tonks wipes down the counter, asking, "You gave him your number, didn't you?"

He gives her a guilty smile.

"I'm not surprised," she says, rolling her eyes.

Charlie makes an unintelligible noise. "Did you see him? Did you really not expect me to try?"

He feels his phone vibrate. He has a text from an unknown number. " _On your knees, then."_

He grins as he types back a quick, " _send me the info and I'll be there_."

Tonks gives him a look. "I suppose since you're grinning, your cheesy pick up line worked."

"Did it ever. Today turned out much better than I thought."

He's completely forgotten about the thunderstorm he'll most likely have to trudge through on his way home. Excitement rushes through his body at Draco's prospect.

* * *

OTP bootcamp: sin

Meet cute: I write a bad pick up line on your cup every time I'm your barista (Draco's reply is courtesy of Amber.)

Insane: 741. Job - Barista

365: 18. AU - Cafe!AU

Resolutions: write 50 fics, write a cliché plot

Scavenger: Write a fic between 400 and 500 words with the prompts: terrible, yellow and sleep.

Writing month wc: 481

Serpents: Storm water cobra - (dialogue) "It's raining men - hallelujah!"

Gobstones: green - courage; accuracy - (word) constant, power - (color) mustard yellow, technique - (dialogue) "I'm not surprised."

Character Appreciation: Write about a man with red hair

Book club: Whitney Horgan - (weather) lightning, (word) stand, (word) consequence

Days of the month: Umbrella Day - Write a fic set during a rainstorm


	3. Volunteer at a library

Charlie honestly doesn't know how Percy keeps roping him into volunteering at the Flourish and Blotts on Saturdays. Still, he wakes up every Saturday morning and heads to the library to volunteer until three in the afternoon with his brother. He sticks his name tag on his shirt and helps people find books while Percy restocks, until three when he mentors the kids who need help.

The library is mostly quiet; he gets a handful of, "can you help me?" from little kids, and the occasional questions from an adult who just can't seem to find the book they're looking for. Then, there's tall, blond and confident man, who demands help finding the most eccentric books Charlie's ever heard of every Saturday like clockwork. (The man is Draco Malfoy, if his library card is accurate.)

Charlie's watching him leave—after helping him find a book on the mating habits of komodo dragons this time—when Percy stops the cart behind him. He mourns the fact that he can't watch the blond completely disappear as he turns around to help Percy load returned books on the cart.

"Does he ask for crazy books on Sundays too?" Charlie asks.

Percy snaps his head up to meet his brother's eyes, pushing up his glasses. "The blond that just left?"

Charlie nods.

His brother shakes his head, returning back to his task. "It seems like he only comes in here when you're volunteering at the front desk."

"What?" he asks, frowning.

Percy snorts. "Please tell me you knew that." When Charlie is suspiciously quiet, his brother looks at him incredulously. "Wait! You really don't know?"

Charlie furrows his eyebrows in response, gesturing for Percy to continue.

"I'm not an expert in romance, but even I can tell that he's interested in you," his brother tells him. He glances at Charlie when he grabs more books, noticing Charlie's doubt. "Come on, it's a classic move—do anything to talk with the object of your desire. He's come in a time or two when you haven't been here and left when he realized it."

This newfound knowledge seems to be the key that unlocks everything for Charlie; he sees all of their interaction in a new light. How could he have missed it? It's been weeks.

Percy rolls his eyes at his brother. "Please wait until after you're done to start daydreaming."

"Can't promise anything," Charlie replies cheerfully.

His brother groans, shakes his head, and pushes the cart away.

* * *

When Draco shows up the next week, like clockwork with the book from the week before, Charlie has to resist the urge to rub the back of his neck nervously. He trusts what Percy has said and is hoping for a happy ending, but there's still a little voice in the back of his head that whispers that maybe Percy misread the situation.

"Where will I find the Kama Sutra?" he inquires.

Charlie tries to act as nonchalantly as possible as he types it into the computer. He relies the location, and then waits until the blond returns.

He takes the book from him, scanning it. He fights the blush trying to creep up as he says, "If you want, I could show you my favorite positions later."

Draco laughs then nods. "That would be acceptable."

Charlie grabs a scrap sheet of printer paper and jots down his number. He offers it and the book to the blond. "I look forward to showing you."

He watches Draco until he's out the door. Maybe he should buy his brother dinner for this.

* * *

Meet cute day 3: I work at the library, and you continuously ask me to help you find books on the most random topics; are you on some kind of quest?

Scavenger hunt: Write a fic about Percy Weasley

Library lovers: Suite Scarlett - Maureen Johnson; (relationship) siblings, (object) key, (word) eccentric

Insane: 190. Location - Flourish & Blotts

365: 183. Location - Flourish & Blotts

Serpent day: Zebra snake - (setting) library

Character Appreciation: (relationship) brother

Book Club, Glen Bateman: (emotion) curiosity, (trait) wise, (word) mentor

Showtime, "Thank Goodness": (phrase) happy ending

Count Your Buttons: (dialogue) "Can you help me?", (word) neck

Writing month: 591


	4. Zombie crawl

Charlie frowns at the caller ID. His youngest brother's girlfriend generally doesn't call him. She'll send him an odd text here or there wishing him a happy birthday or holidays, but nothing too frequent.

"Hello?"

"Good, yes, Charlie. Would you happen to have plans for this weekend?" she asks in lieu of a greeting. "Well, particularly Saturday night."

"I was planning on swinging by Mum and Dad's since it's been a while. Why? What's wrong?" he inquires, turning down the volume of his tv.

He can hear her inhale deeply from the other end of the phone. He can picture her tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she says, "There's this event being hosted by pro-LGBTQA charities on Saturday. I've already bought tickets to it, planning to go with your sister, but she's got called away. Ron's is doing the night shift. I just don't want to go by myself, but I don't want to waste the ticket. I was—"

"I'll go," he interjects, cutting off her ramble.

"Really?" she says brightly. "Thank you so much."

"Of course," Charlie says. "It's showing support for Ginny. What is it exactly?"

He listens as Hermione explains the event. Pretending to be a zombie for five kilometers doesn't sound like something he'd chose to do himself; at best, it could be fun, and at worst...well, it's supporting his sister's bisexuality so he'd do it anyways.

He hangs up with "I promise that I'll drop by your place early." Charlie has three days to look into what he should expect come Saturday.

* * *

Charlie arrives to his brother's flat in the early afternoon, a duffle bag of clean clothes in hand. His knock on the door is answered by Ron.

"Glad you could go with her," Ron says. He's fiddling with the belt of his police uniform. "I couldn't get anyone to cover my shift since Ginny got called away so suddenly."

"It's not a problem," he assures his little brother. "Besides, it sounds that it'll be quite an experience."

Hermione takes this moment to enter the living room. She looks death warmed over her; she's used makeup to make her face appear sunken in. It reminds him of the pictures he's seen from what famine causes. The counterbalance the greyed makeup, there's fake blood oh the side of her hair. That's surely going to be a pain to get out. He's extremely impressed with her makeup skills.

Ron looks at her. Her clothing is holey, splattered with fake blood, and covered in stains. "All that blood looks good on you. It really brings out your eyes."

She gives him an unimpressed look as she says, deadpanned, "Consider me charmed."

"I would give you a kiss goodbye, but I don't want to mess up all that," he says, gesturing to her. "I'll see you when I get home. Love you!"

Hermione calls the sentiment back as the door closes. "Now we get you looking like a zombie."

* * *

Charlie's done many things for his sister—had tea parties, snuck her treats when their mum wasn't looking, lied for her—but he's somehow managed to escape being her makeup canvas; their father, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Charlie supposes that this is sweet vengeance for every time he laughed when Ginny practiced on their father.

The makeup feels weird against his skin. He's already looking forward to a bath tonight. He resists the urge to rub at the makeup, knowing that Hermione wouldn't like him ruining her progress.

It's a while but finally, Hermione stands back and declares herself finished. Charlie looks just as zombified as she does. It's ridiculously impressive.

"Alright, it's nearly time. I figured we'll catch a cab downtown. Surely beats London's parking," Hermione says.

Charlie makes a noise of agreement as she pockets her phone and grabs her keys. He follows her lead, and then they head out.

* * *

There's a lot more people here than Charlie was expecting. He blinks at the size of the crowd. It looks like a conquest or a war has come down upon the city of London. Some of the people are already in character, looking around listlessly as all of the participants get signed in.

It looks like a scene from a video game his friends would play. The sun is sinking below the horizon when their attention is called for. A man stands on the table as he informs the crowd of the rules and the expectations.

They've got five kilometers of downtown London partitioned off for their event. For each person who completes the even, money would go to the charities that support LGBTQA. They blow a whistle and the event starts.

It's not a long distance—Charlie's used to running more. He constantly has to remind himself to be desultory. The people start groaning as they move. They really pull off a realistic zombie mob, he can't help but think.

* * *

The moon continues to rise in the sky as they make their way through the street. There has been quite a few people who found themselves too tired to finish. Hermione has kept a steady, desultory pace with him. She's groaning and moving stiffly.

Charlie has to admit, he's enjoying himself more than he thought he would.

Then there's a blond man who takes one look at the crowd and screams. Charlie thinks briefly that the man is going to deny screaming in fear later, but he's too hypnotized by the blond's beauty to think of anything else.

He looks otherworldly, even as he trips over his feet, with the moonlight making his hair look even blonder. Charlie finally understands what everyone meant when they said "love at first sight".

Hermione makes a noise of frustration that causes Charlie to remember himself, but he doesn't take his eyes off the other man. "For the last time, Draco, I'm not a zombie. Think about it!"

The man gives Hermione a look of doubt. "There's been reports of zombies in America."

Hermione rolls her eyes at Draco. "To think we used to compete against each other for the highest scores in school." She gestures to the crowd that is slowly but surely moving past them, groaning and dragging their feet. "You're more than welcome to follow us to the end of the event. I'll be damned if I put all this effort into raising money for the LGBTQA community and not finish."

She turns back to him. "Come on, Charlie. We should continue if we want to finish at a decent hour."

"Right," he agrees half-heartedly. He still can't take his eyes off the blond. Draco studies the crowd, clearly looking to see if Hermione lied or not. "The crawl. We should. Yeah."

Hermione throws her hands up. "You know what? I'll just meet you at the finish line."

She doesn't give him time to protest as she turns and matches pace with the group of people passing them. Charlie coughs, his cheeks pinkening, rubbing the back of his neck as he realizes he's been staring. He drops his hand and averts his eyes as the blond looks at him.

"Are you here because you're gay too?" he gestures to the crowd.

Surely, the man can't be gay too. Charlie stumbles over his words, "I—what—you. No? I mean, yes, I'm gay. Well, more bi. But I'm not here because I'm bi. Not that I'm against coming to Pride events. But Hermione n—"

"You're cute when you're nervous," Draco says, stopping Charlie's babbling.

He falls quiet, thankful that his nonsense was cut off. He reaches back up to rub at his neck. "There's no way I'm getting out of this; Hermione's expecting me at that finish line. You could come along?" he says hopefully.

Draco looks down at his clothes and back at Charlie. "I'm not exactly dressed for that."

Charlie brightens. It wasn't a no. He starts zombie walking towards Draco. The man startles, immediately moving out of Charlie's reach.

"Oi, what are you doing?"

"You said you weren't dressed for it. I disagree. You definitely dressed to be the survivor," Charlie replies.

Draco considers this for a moment. "I suppose. You can buy me dinner when I beat you to the finish line."

He laughs and lunges toward the blond. Draco narrows his eyes as he barely manages to get out of his reach.

* * *

True to her word, Hermione is waiting at the finish line when they manage to arrive. They are both breathless from laughing. She gives him a knowing look. "I'm going to call a cab. Thanks for coming with."

Charlie opens his mouth to protest, but she quickly talks over him. "Who am I to stand in the way of whatever this is," she says, circling them with her gesture. "I mean, you somehow got Draco to lower himself to peasant level. That's a miracle, in and of itself."

Charlie senses a bit of anonymity between the two of them, so he speaks before Draco or Hermione have a chance to get into an argument; he'd rather not ruin the mood.

"I do owe you dinner," he says to Draco, "But I'm sure Ron would be angry if I didn't stay until your cab gets here."

"There's really no need. I'm a big girl. I can handle myself," she assures him.

That doesn't deter Charlie. Somehow, the three of them make amicable small talk until Hermione's cab get there. He turns to the blond when she's out of his sight, grinning at him.

"So dinner?"

Draco smirks at him. "I'm craving a salad."

Charlie gives him an incredulous look. "You can't be serious."

"How else am I to know you're not pretending to be human so you can eat my brains later?"

He laughs so hard his stomach and cheeks aches. "You never know; you just might like brains if you tried it."

Draco smirks. "Maybe I can be convinced to try it later. If you're lucky."

Charlie gives the blond a grin. "I'll take that. So a salad bar?"

* * *

OTP bootcamp: listless

Meet cute: I was unaware that there was an organised zombie crawl going on and I didn't realise you were in a costume. I screamed in your face because I truly thought I was facing a zombie invasion.

Scavenger hunt: Write a fic featuring Hermione as a main character

Serpent: Japanese rat snake- (pairing) Ron/Hermione

Gobstones: gold stone - opportunity; accuracy - (emotion) scared, power - (action) tripping, technique - (dialogue) "I promise."

Library Lover: Fangirl - (plot point) misunderstanding, (plot point) something coming to an end, (restriction) must feature a slash pairing

Book club: Tom Cullen - (action) being hypnotized, (word) moon, (time) nighttime

Showtime: One Short Day - (setting) Muggle London

Buttons: (dialogue) "Think about it.", (pairing) Ron/Hermione, (word) bath

Liza's Loves: Four Horsemen - write a story with the 4 words: (war) (famine) (death) and (conquest)

Resolutions: write 50 fics

365\. 86. Dialogue - "All that blood looks good on you. It brings out your eyes."

Insane: 377. Word - desultory - (Slow, Sluggish)

Writing wc: 1671


	5. Support group

The battle is over. Instead of relief, Draco feels an unexplainable sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. His eyes sweep around the ruins of the Great Hall, trying to find something to explain this gut feeling.

He sees some people huddling together and other people comforting crying family members; the rest, unable to stay still, have begun to gather the dead. He still doesn't see his parents. He needs to find them.

The longer it takes him to find them, the more the sense of foreboding grows. He checks the Great Hall, the corridors on the first floor, the Quidditch field, and comes up empty. He's on his way to Hagrid's Hut when two people pass him, carrying a body. The person looks familiar—too familiar. His blood run cold. "Wait!" he calls.

He recognizes one of the people as the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, but can't place the second. They both look apprehensively at him, but he approaches them anyways.

It can't be his mother. It just can't be. Then he breathes in, and somehow, the world is still spinning even though that's his mother being carried by two people.

"I'm sorry," one of them says. He can't pinpoint who. They say something else, but he doesn't understand it. He doesn't move to stop them as they continue their journey.

He doesn't remember how to move. It's all he can do to continue breathing. He feels hollow. What is he going to do now? He doesn't know how to live without his mother.

* * *

He stays inside after the war. In the Manor he inherited. The Manor in which the Dark Lord had used for his headquarters. He can't suppress the memories of what happened, but it's easier to face those horrors than the people that call for his imprisonment.

He lives in parts of the Manor that the Dark Lord never inhabited. It takes just a month before he can't stand to stay inside, can't stand to look at four walls, can't stand the ghosts of memories it brings back.

But there isn't anyone in the wizarding community he could talk to. They would never help a former Death Eater like him. It only leaves him one option—Muggles. Years ago, that thought would've made him sneer; now, however, it just makes him question his sanity.

Maybe being trapped in the Manor has made him lose his mind.

* * *

Draco questions his decision for the umpteenth time when he walks from the designated Apparition zone to the building. It had taken him a little effort, but he had found a place to go where no names were needed.

He had considered using a few spells to alter his appearance, but had ultimately decided against it; these Muggles would have no idea who he is and it's so late in the evening that the darkness would give him cover.

The building itself is so nondescript that he almost misses it. There's a few of those contraptions that Muggles use to get around with near the building. They look like it would take them longer to get around than Apparating and Portkeys, or even brooms.

He takes a deep breath and then goes inside. There aren't that many people in there, six other people. One sits in front, facing the door, while the others make a semi-circle facing the man.

The man, who looks to be not much older than Draco himself, has his cane in between his feet, resting his hands on it. It reminds him of his father's cane and his chest aches. He stands there, frozen halfway between the door and the chairs, trying to remember how to breathe.

"Well, this is the last place I thought I'd see you," a voice says behind him.

Draco whirls around quickly. The man behind him has shocking red hair, and there's only one person he can be—a Weasley.

He narrows his eyes at the other man. "Are you following me?" he hisses.

Weasley snorts and rolls his eyes. "Following you would imply that I had an interest in whatever the hell you're doing. Which, for the record, I'm don't."

"Why are you here, then?" he demands.

He's expecting to see disgust in the other man's eyes, but he doesn't. The redhead just stares at him for a long moment, studying him with eyes full of curiosity. Draco fights the urge to shift under the scrutiny. Finally, the man asks, "Have you ever taken a moment to consider the world doesn't revolve around you?"

Draco opens his mouth to reply and snaps it closed.

"That's what I thought. Look, I'm here for the same thing you are. You're not the only person who lost someone that night," the redhead says.

"I thought you had family to turn to at a time like this," he sneers.

He immediately regrets it. He can see the other man grow taut with anger. He's fully expecting a verbal lashing when the man forcibly steadies his breathing, which flabbergasts him.

Before either of them can say anything else, the man at the front of the room calls out, "It's just about time for us to start. How about you two take a seat so we can begin?"

Draco follows Weasley to the seats but opts to sit as far away from the redhead as possible. He gets the impression that Weasley isn't going to leave what he said alone.

* * *

Draco states his name when the man asks, but declines to share with the group. The man frowns but leaves it alone, letting a different person share. He sits quietly as the people in the room volunteer to share their personal encounter with loss. There are some who seem a little too shy to share with the group, folding in on themselves as they talk in small voices that carry in the room.

As he leaves, he wonders how he thought that a support group would help. It's not as insightful as he hoped it would be.

He doesn't get too far from the building before he hears his last name being called. He doesn't know why, but he stills. Maybe it's because he didn't see disgust in Weasley's eyes.

Weasley comes to a stop in front of Draco. He's shorter than Draco, with a face full of freckles, and noticeable scars on his arms where his shirt doesn't cover.

"What you said earlier was out of line," he says firmly. "If you were paying attention to everyone tonight, you know everyone deals with grief in their own way. But I'll be damned if you question how I deal with it."

Since Draco doesn't know how to keep his retorts to himself in the face of a Weasley, he taunts, "How is it out of line when we all know it's true?"

He's expecting Weasley become angry; only he doesn't. He's calm when he replies. "If your goal is to piss me off, you'll find I have a longer fuse than my brothers. How about instead of lashing out, you actually talk about it? You'll find that I'm a decent listener."

For the second time this evening, Draco is flabbergasted by the redhead. There's a long silence as Draco tries and fails to come up with an explanation.

"Why would I want to do that?" he demands, his lips twisting in disdain.

"Are you always this much of an arsehole or are you just being a dick because I'm a Weasley? Because honestly, if it's the latter, that's a stupid reason. Didn't we just get through a war that broke out because of hatred?"

He looks at Weasley, shocked.

But Weasley just continues on. "So how about we put all of this behind us and start this evening over?"

"I've done nothing but insult you this entire time and you want to start over?" he asks incredulously.

Weasley shrugs. "Everyone deserves a second chance. I'm offering you one."

Draco narrows his eyes, barely resisting the urge to scratch at the dark mark. "Why? I was a Death Eater."

"I just—" he breaks off and inhales sharply. "Look I know two things: one, that we can't change the past and two, you were put in a situation where there was no good choice."

"You don't know that."

"Your official testimony is available to the public. I know you were given a choice between saving your parents' lives and killing Dumbledore," Weasley says. "You want to know what choice I would've made if those were my only two options?"

"You wouldn't be in that position in the first place," Draco says bitterly.

Weasley answers as if he didn't hear Draco speak. "I would've saved my parents, each and every time."

Once again, Draco is surprised into silence.

Weasley's lips quirk up into a small smile. "Just because you've done terrible things doesn't make you a terrible person. We all have the capability to do monstrous things; it all depends on circumstances."

Draco frowns as he considers the redhead's words. "What happens when you've done those things?"

"If you regret it, as it seems like you do, you move on and try to be better, try to correct what you did wrong," he says, shrugging.

"You say that as if anyone is willing to let monsters move on," Draco says sharply.

Weasley frowns. "Then you go somewhere where you can. I work with dragons on the Romanian Reserve; they're always looking for more Tamers. I'm going back next weekend, if you want to join me."

"You haven't even introduced yourself and you're inviting me to a different country," he points out.

The redhead gives him a wry smile. "Mum always did say that I had terrible manners. Name's Charlie."

He senses that the other man is waiting for him to return the greeting. "Draco."

"Well, Draco, the offer stands. You can join me if you'd like. I suppose getting away from that Manor of yours would do you some good," Charlie says.

Without another word, Charlie vanishes with a loud 'pop'. Draco stares at the place that the redhead stood in for a longer than necessary. Finally, Draco pulls out his wand to Apparate when he realizes that they aren't in the Apparition zone. He shakes his head, thinking that it's a good thing that it's so dark.

When he appears just outside of the Manor, he can't help but think the redhead is onto something. He doesn't want to keep living in a place that only reminds him of what he lost. Maybe it'll be easier to come to terms with his parent's death out of the country.

He owls Charlie two days later.

* * *

OTP bootcamp: killing

Meet cute: support group

Serpents: Lancehead- (word) hollow

Library lover: Twilight - Stephanie Meyer  
Starting over, (Word) Loss, (trait) shy

Character Appreciate: (object) Muggle car

Disney: Aladdin - Write about a survivor.

Book club: Judge Farris: (word) insightful, (action) vanishing, (word) volunteer, (trait) courageous

Showtime: The Wizard and I - (word) Quirk

Buttons: "We all know it's true.", Official

A year in entertainment: TV: House - (object) Cane

Liza's loves: Widow's Kiss - Write about someone moving on

Gobstones: silver stone - death; accuracy - (dialogue) "We can't change the past.", power - (word) Goal, technique - (dialogue) "Are you following me?"

Scavenger: Write a Slash pairing

Insane: 699. Phrase/Saying - "Never judge a book by it's cover."

365: 346. Word - Flabbergasted

Resolutions: write 50 fics

Writing month: 1773


	6. Superhero

Charlie's exhausted by the time he gets home. He wants nothing more than to curl up in his bed and never come out. His costume is folded neatly in the duffle bag he drops just inside the door.

He never expected Silver Star to ask him out. There's something about the other hero that always intrigues him. He may have agreed if he isn't so completely and utterly in love with his roommate, even if he's a bit of a dick most of the time.

He heads to the kitchen to put the kettle on and drop off the pizza he picked up on the way home. "Draco?" he yells.

He's surprised when he hears the other man swearing. He peaks around the kitchen corner, and he sees the undeniable costume of Silver Star as Draco flees to his room.

He stands there for a moment. Everything makes complete sense—the obvious lies, the bruises. He swears loudly. The blond was probably brooding because of the earlier rejection.

An idea forms in his head. He grabs his duffle bag from the hallway, and changes into it in his bedroom, purposefully leaving off his head covering. After, Charlie knocks on Draco's door loudly, nonchalantly informing him of dinner.

As expected, the blond appears at the door. He can tell the exact moment Draco realizes Charlie's the Red Dragon. He slams the door in Charlie's face.

Half an hour later he calls, "Come on, you can't hide forever!"

The door opens and Draco glares at Charlie's costume. "Really? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Like you didn't?"

When Draco doesn't argue, Charlie crosses the space between them. "I'd like to kiss you now."

The blond kisses him hard. When they pull apart, delighted laughter rings out. "I think I'll take that date too."

* * *

Meet cute: superhero

Character appreciation: Write about a fight

Showtime: What Is This Feeling? - (au) Roommates

Buttons: (song) Take us home [this is my heart/ take it with you when you go], (dialogue) "You can't hide forever."

Gobblestones: Grey Stone - Protection; accuracy - (action) yelling, power - (au) Roommates, technique - (object) Kettle

Write a drabble of exactly 300 words using the prompts: Ring, "Really? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" and delight.

Serpent: California king snake- (AU) superhero

Insane: 365. Word - Brood - (To think alone)

365: 38. AU - Superhero!AU

Writing month: 300


	7. Tattoo artist

Charlie hears Tonks annoyed voice ring out as he finishes wrapping the tattoo he just finished. He, then, goes over the instructions with his customer. As he leads his customer out, he notices a blond man and a darker man standing at the counter, and Tonks appearing frustrated.

She makes an exaggerated motion at him as their secret tell for frustrating customers. He steps behind her desk to face the men. "What's going on?" he asks. He can tell immediately the blond is truly and utterly sloshed, while his friend is just buzzed.

The blond man give him a grin. "I want a centaur wielding a sword on my back," he announces.

Charlie's surprised by how coherently the man speaks given how drunk he appears. "Are you sure about that? You really shouldn't be getting a tattoo drunk."

The grin is dominated by a glare. "Are you saying it's stupid?"

"I didn't say it was a bad idea, just that it's an illegal one," he says, giving the man a compliance motion of his hands. "How about I get my coworker and you can tell him all about what you want and we'll pencil you in when you're not drunk."

"Why not you?" the darker man asks, startling Charlie. He almost forgot the man was there.

"Animals and portraits aren't my speciality," Charlie replies. "Just hold on and I'll get Dean for you."

He explains the situation to his coworker before bringing him up front. The blond demands the same tattoo as before; Charlie's surprised he remembered what he asked for the first time.

Dean holds a sketchbook in his hand and starts drawing a rough outline. He gives a Tonks a nod before he wanders off to work on the drawing. Tonks goes through the schedule, trying to find a place to put him, and then she takes all his information.

"It'll be £450. You'll have to pay half up front to reserve a time," Tonks says, pressing a few buttons on her computer screen.

The blond digs through his pocket until he finds his wallet. His friend plucks it out of his hand and expertly digs out a card to hand to Tonks. She runs it and hands it back, laying the receipt down for a signature. The blond scribbles something illegible before his friend drags him away.

"I bet 50 pounds that he asks for a refund when he gets the reminder email," she announces loudly.

From the back, he can hear Dean call out, "50 pounds he just doesn't show up."

"I got 50 pound on him changing it the day of," Charlie counters.

He hears Dean's laughter in the back and Tonks rolls her eyes at him. He stares at the door for a moment. If the blond wasn't so sloshed, he may have tried to talk him up. It's a shame that he specializes in black and white and objects; he'd love to tattoo that pale skin.

* * *

Charlie sneaks a small candy bar from behind the reception desk and makes a hasty retreat. Tonks throws a pen at him, calling out, "Don't touch my things!"

He laughs as he goes to share the mars bar with his coworker. Dean Thomas crouches over a sketchbook in the back. He peers over the darker man's shoulder. The centaur is amazing; Dean's left no detail unaddressed. The centaur is standing proudly, a quiver full of arrows runs across his chest and a sword holster around his waist, with long, flowing hair and a victorious grin. The sword itself is a thing of beauty; it reminds Charlie of the legendary sword—Excalibur.

"Amazing," Charlie says in awe.

The door bells jingle and Dean grabs his sketch as they head to the front of the shop to greet the customer. The blond from the month before is checking in with Tonks and suspiciously alone.

She turns to look at them. "Your 5:30 cancelled, Charlie. Draco's here for his appointment."

His coworker steps forward, offering his hand to Draco. "Dean," he introduces himself. "Are you ready?"

The blond looks nervous so Charlie flashes him a smile. "Since my appointment cancelled, I can always hold your hand during it."

Before Draco has a chance to oppose the offer, Dean is gently leading Draco towards his workstation in the back. Charlie grabs his own stool as he follows, too curious about whether or not Draco will change his mind. His coworker shows the drawing to the blond. "So this is what I came up with for you."

The blond pales. "How drunk was I?"

"Completely and utterly sloshed," Charlie answers, amused.

"I'm going to murder Blaise. I don't know how but this is his fault," Draco growls.

"So," Charlie says tentatively, gesturing to Dean's beautiful drawing, "you don't want this?"

The blond shakes his head quickly. "Never. If anything, it would be a dragon."

Dean spins around on his stool, looking to the ceiling as if he hated the world. "I spent weeks working on that! Now you want a dragon. I don't have one drawn. Why does this always happen to me?" he cries dramatically, covering his eyes with an arm.

Charlie glances between the blond and his coworker. There's something between Dean's frustrated circles and Draco crestfallen face that gets to him. "You have the one you've been working on for me," he points out. "It's practically finished."

"You'd—that's yours," Dean says, stilling. He's looking at Charlie with a sudden intensity.

He shrugs. "You can always draw me another one."

Both of the other men look like he's a hero that saved the day. Dean comes back with the dragon sketch in hand. They discuss color and placement and size; it'll take several sessions to complete the elaborate dragon.

Draco strips his shirt, and Charlie's mouth goes dry. His upper body is beautiful, unmarred by beauty spots or blemishes. Charlie wishes, now more than ever, animals were his speciality. He wants to tattoo the blond's pale skin.

Dean pulls on his gloves, gets his black ink ready, and brings the tattoo gun to Draco's back.

Charlie's been in the tattooing business long enough to know when someone is flinching with fear. Without consciously thinking of the consequences, he scoots his stool over and takes Draco's hand.

The surprise of the action keeps Draco from thinking about the pain. Charlie calls it a win.

Draco tightens his hold of Charlie's hand on and off throughout the tattoo. It takes over two hours for Dean to finish. When Dean announces it, Draco seems to realize he's holding Charlie's hand.

"My apologies," he says sheepishly, his cheeks a light pink. "I'm not the biggest fan of needles."

"Yet you're getting a tattoo," Charlie points out.

"It was Blaise's idea. When I got the email, I showed him. Well, somehow it ended with me getting a tattoo and not losing a 100 pounds," Draco explains rather vaguely.

He stands up and turns away from the mirror, taking the small mirror Dean offers to peer over his shoulder. The outline of the dragon is magnificent, truly a thing of beauty and it doesn't even need to be colored in to look complete. Draco mutters something under his breath; it's too soft to really make out, but Charlie swears it sounds like, "I've fallen under a spell."

Dean grins when he can see Draco's awestruck expression. He gives the blond a few moments to admire the tattoo before he wraps it and goes over the aftercare instructions.

Tonks calls, saying Charlie's appointment has arrived. He pushes his stool into his workstation before heading up front. The blond stops him before he gets a chance to go far.

The pink hasn't disappeared from his cheeks as he asks, "Can I take you to dinner for that?" He gestures to Dean's workstation, where the darker man is cleaning up.

It takes Charlie a couple of seconds to realize what he's asking. He grins. "Well, I suppose you owe me for nearly breaking my hand at times."

Draco goes to protest, but Tonks yells again. "Tonks will get you all set. Just tell her I'm giving you my personal number. Looking forward to that dinner," he says, winking.

With that, Charlie hurries off to greet his customer. He sees the blond at the counter when he leads the woman to his workstation. He briefly hopes that the shop won't be the only place he'll ever see the blond before he pushes it aside to concentrate on his customer's tattoo.

* * *

OTP bootcamp: quiver

Meet cute: tattoo

Showtime: As Long As You're Mine - (dialogue) "I've fallen under your spell."

Tv: Angela Montenegro - (AU) Artist, (item) sketchbook, (character) Dean Thomas

Scavenger: Write an AU set outside of the wizarding world (no magic - squibs are acceptable)

Gobstones: purple - appeal; accuracy - (dialogue) "Don't touch my things," power - (dialogue) "I spent weeks working on that!", technique - (au) artist

Serpents: African twig snake- (dialogue) "I didn't say it was a bad idea, just that it's illegal."

365: 353. Word - Magnificent

Insane: 661. Dialogue - "Don't touch my things."

Library: Percy Jackson - (object) Sword, (word) Hero, (creature) Centaur 

Writing month: 1424


	8. Celebrity

The Quibbler

January 23, 2000

There had been whispers circling around Charlie Weasley and boyfriend, Oliver Wood, about a break up on the horizon. Earlier this morning, they announced their break up via Twitter.

Charlie had left a heartfelt tweet about how the breakup was mutual due to their lives going in different directions. While it's inconclusive, we believe tension between Charlie and Oliver was sparked when Oliver broke his leg and was out most of his season, while Charlie's fame had begun to get traction with his own tv show.

Oliver had wished his ex the best of luck and had stated that while they were not dating anymore, he would still be in the redhead's life. Both of them had requested privacy during this time.

What are your thoughts?

The Quibbler

June 5, 2000

Please bring a Ouija board because I am officially dead! A few days after Charlie and Oliver's break up, a person by the name of Draco Malfoy tweeted a picture of himself at Charlie, asking to date him. The picture was nothing short of pure seduction. The redhead had publicly replied to the man, in what we all believe to be a joking manner.

In interviews since then, Charlie has declined to make a comment about the blond man he responded to. People have been whispering about their take on the what the conversation had gone once it was moved into the their DMs.

This morning, Charlie had tweeted happy birthday at the blond man. When that stirred up Charlie's fans, he had publicly announced they were indeed dating. He declined to say how long they had been dating.

Draco had tweeted one message saying that his seduction technique had resulted in a date. Charlie had followed that tweet with his own, saying he was excited to see what would unfold for him and Draco.

Sorry gentlemen, it seems that Draco stole Charlie's attention months ago. Perhaps you can win your celebrity crush like Mr Malfoy did.

* * *

Book club: Nadine Cross: (word) pure, (object) Ouija/spirit board, (word) seduction

Showtime: I'm Not That Girl - (word) Steal

Liza's loves: Hollywood - Write about a star (not in the sky - I mean a celeb)

Library lovers: Divergent - Veronica Roth - write about starting new, (word) inconclusive, (word) result

Serpents: Blonde hognose snake - (word) whisper

Insane: 947. Style - Blog/Online Forum

365: 297. Style - Blog/Forum/Chatroom/Text

Resolutions: write 50 stories, write a story in a style you've not used before (blog)

Writing month: 333


	9. Reaper

It started out like an ordinary day. One minute, Charlie's valiantly taking down his enemies, then he's standing over his body, his rifle on the ground next to him. He sees an increasing amount of blood on his uniform. Shit. He had just told his unit, "There's more than one kind of family," the night before; he had just said he wouldn't leave them behind, to trust that he'd fight tooth and nail to get back to them.

Oh god, his mother, he had promised to come back. How is she going to cope? He hates that he'll be the reason she cries.

The hairs on the back of his hair stands up as unease settles in his stomach. He's being watched. He spins until he sees a sharply dressed man. Charlie looks him up and down; he's always had a soft spot for blonds. He forgets about everything else at the sight of the man.

"Am I in heaven?" he says dreamily.

The blond snorts. "If you think this is heaven, you're dumber than most I help."

"Help?" Charlie asks, frowning.

The blond sighs dramatically. Then he gestures around with a sweep of his hand. "Help you move on."

Charlie tilts his head slightly. "I don't suppose you'll be there if I move on."

The other man raises an eyebrow at him. "I'm only here to help you find the your door."

"I thought it was supposed to be a light," he comments. Then he shrugs. "What if I don't want to move on?"

"Why would you want to be stuck on Earth, watching but never interacting with another human for the rest of time?" the man counters.

Deliberately, Charlie looks the man up and down. He doesn't try to hide his interest in the blond, like he would before he died—homosexuality is only something talked about in hushed whispers and in dark alleys. He's never had the luxury of being able to openly oogle an attractive man before.

"There could be worse things," Charlie says offhandedly. "Like not being able to see you again."

The blond looks alarmed at his statement. He stutters out, "You'd—what—you. I can't. Why?"

Charlie grins, bright and easy. "I'll go find that door if you visit."

He takes a deep breathe in and fixes Charlie with an incredulous expression. "This has never happened before."

"Damn shame, then," the redhead replies.

"I'm pretty sure that everyone else was a little too upset about dying to try to woo their reapers," he points out.

He considers this for a moment. He had been so caught up with the blond's beauty that he could forget that there were people praying he'd come home. But they're be alright; his family has each other to get through the pain.

The redhead shrugs. "It's not like I'm gonna be able to just get back into my body and live through sheer determination. I'd prefer to think of things I can do, like kiss you, for example."

"You are the most ridiculous person I've ever had to help," he says.

Charlie grins as the other man approaches him. The blond pulls him into a magnificent kiss—no, it's not magnificent just because it's been years since he's last held another person. He doesn't remember the last time a kiss has felt like this. When the break apart, Charlie keeps his eyes closed, not wanting to spoil the kiss

"Tell me there's a way to stay with you," he whispers.

There's a long silence before the reaper speaks. "My apologies, but there isn't. You can say here and lose yourself a little more each day until you've gone mad, you can move on and never see me again, or you can become a reaper and you'd still never see me."

Charlie finds his options more cruel than death. He doesn't know what it is about the blond, but he wants to spend the rest of forever with him, and he still doesn't know the other man's name.

"Move on," the blond whispers. "It's the best option."

"Tell me your name," he commands.

The blond whispers it against Charlie's lips as he kisses him again.

Charlie pulls away and looks at the blond. What he would've done to meet him when he was living. Draco gestures to the door that has appeared near them and Charlie has no choice but to open it.

"If the reaper business isn't for eternity, you should come visit me, Draco," he says. The blond doesn't have a chance to respond before Charlie steps through the doorway. He wonders if he made the right choice as the door shuts behind him.

* * *

Meet cute: reaper

Book club: Lloyd Henreid: (plot point) murder, (word) trust, (trait) loyal

Buttons: (song) "Days Go By" by The Offspring [Run to the light /It won't save you tonight /All our yesterdays are pictures lost in time / What you had and what you lost /They're all memories in the wind]

Tv: Seeley Booth: (AU) War, (dialogue) "There's more than one kind of family.", (item) rifle

Library Lovers: Chronicles of Narnia - (au) WWII, (word) Magnificent, (word) Valiant

Serpents: Australian scrub python- (word) luxury

Insane: 210. AU - WW2

365: 135. First Line - It started out like an ordinary day.

Writing month: 765


	10. Speed dating

Draco sits in front of the fourth person of the speed date round, and regrets coming at all. There's no denying the woman before him—Pansy Parkinson her name tag reads— is pretty with ivory skin, dark eyes and darker hair, but she's only talked about herself since he introduced himself as the Malfoy Industries heir. There's a gleam in her eyes when she talks about what she expects out of a relationship; it's as if she's only interested in seeing what the money he'll inherit will do for her. He was worried about this happening when his mother convinced him to at least try, worried people only see money signs when they find out his name.

She slides her foot up against Draco's leg, giving him a seductive look, purring, "What do you say about ending our evening in more horizontal fashion?"

Draco is saved from answering as the timer rings. He flashes her a smirk as he stands. She winks at him and tells him that she looks forward to his call. He can still smell her perfume as he moves on. There's a comely redhead bent over a newspaper at the next table. Draco frowns a bit as he pulls out the chair to sit down. "They you we only have five minutes, but I can tell we're going to need longer. Especially, if you'd prefer to read the paper."

The man's head snaps up, looking at him with stunning blue eyes, folding the paper to sit it to the side. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Five minutes, get to know each other, move on. Weren't you paying any attention?" he asks.

He points to himself. "You think I'm part of this?"

Draco raises his eyebrow. "Considering you're sitting at one of the tables, yes. What's your name? You seem to have forgotten your name tag."

"It's Charlie," the redhead answers, "but I'm not part of whatever you're doing."

"Nonsense," Draco replies. "Why else would you be sitting at a table for the speed date?"

Charlie laughs brightly. "Speed dating! Why would someone like you need to speed date? Don't you have all sorts of women that fall at your feet?"

"None that I want to date," he says flatly. "I find that most of them only want to be with me for my money."

"Some people will never understand that having all the money they want won't bring the true happiness," Charlie says seriously. "It's the experiences, friends and family that'll make people happy."

Relief floods through Draco's body; at least this man isn't like the others. Maybe there could be something here. "What do you do?"

"I'm a firefighter. I tend to come to the Three Broomsticks one Thursday a month to have supper and see my sister. She couldn't make it on Thursday and offered to meet today, but she's running late," Charlie says, shrugging.

Draco frowns. "You're really not here for the speed dating?"

The redhead snorts. "I told you like three times I wasn't. Okay, a bit of an exaggeration. But I'm definitely not here for the speed dating event. This just happens to be our usual table."

Draco blinks at that information. "My apologies then."

He watches Charlie unlock his phone and type out a quick message. He then looks up at Draco a little hopeful and says, "You don't have to leave. My sister's a little caught up with her work. Maybe you and I can order something and make this a real date?"

There really isn't a decision to be made. Draco stays seated and flags down a waiter to order. As they wait, they talk about their families to their jobs, and everything in between. He tells the redhead about being the heir to Malfoy Industries, but Charlie just blinks and asks if he has any plans for when he takes over the company. The question surprises him—everyone either wants to talk about how much money he'll get or they change the subject.

The night wears on as the food is eaten and stories are share. He hasn't enjoyed a date this much since he dated Astoria in his first year of college; even then, those dates were nothing compared to this. This date feels like a breath of fresh air after suffocating in poisonous air. He doesn't want it to end.

Charlie phone buzzes and he swears. "I got an early morning tomorrow. But I would definitely like to do this again."

Draco offers his phone to the redhead and waits as he punches in his contact information. He leans down and kisses Charlie softly. When he pulls away, Charlie is grinning.

"I think I should pick up some chocolates for my sister next time, since this date was her fault," he says. He kisses Draco again, nothing more than a quick peck on the lips. "Text me later. Night, Draco."

He stands there, watching the redhead leave, and then he groans. He's going to have to tell his mother that he found someone at the speed dating event.

* * *

Meet cute: speed dating

Disney: A Whole New World - Write about a date that the characters don't want to end.

OTP: having a disagreement

Optional Prompts:  
(dialogue) "I told you three times!"  
(object) Chocolates  
(setting) Restaurant  
(color) Ivory  
(word) Pretty

Book club: Julie Lawry: (character) Pansy Parkinson, (word) poison, (word) information

Buttons: (object) Perfume

Serpents: Indigo snake - (setting) The Three Broomsticks

Insane: 369. Word - Comely

365\. 194. Location - The Three Broomsticks

Writing month: 838


	11. Fake relationship

Charlie swings his youngest niece, Dominique, into the air as she giggles. When she's back on the ground, her older sister tugs at his shirt. "Me next, Uncle Charlie! Me next!"

He laughs, swinging Victoire up into the air as she squeals. Then he swings Dominique back into the air, grinning as she laughs. He's growing tired, but he loves to hear the sound of their laughs too much to stop.

He's in the middle of swinging Dominique again when his father says, "You might wanna careful. They ate not too long ago."

Victoire and Dominique gasp at that.

"No! Pwease, again!" Dominique requests, holding her hands up for him to pick her up. "Again."

He pats her head. He wants to pick her up, but his father is right; he could make them sick, and he doesn't want that. "Maybe next time, Dom."

The four year old pouts, folding her arms across her chest. He hates disappointing them.

Then his dad gives the girls a conspiratorial grin. "I bet if you asked real nicely, Gran will give you a treat."

The girls turn to each other, grinning, before racing off to the kitchen. Charlie hears his older brother shout a warning about not running inside the Burrow.

He turns to look at his father, his smile dropping when he notices Arthur's serious face. There's only one thing that could make his father give him that look. He groans. "Mum roped you into talking to me about finding a date to Fred's wedding, didn't she?"

Arthur takes a seat in his armchair. "Your mum is just worried about you. She thinks you're lonely."

He appreciates the fact that his father doesn't try to convince him; he states the facts and that's the end of it. Charlie sighs. There's really no good way of going about this. "Would it make her happy if I brought a date?"

"Very much so," Arthur confirms.

"I'll bring a date then," he tells the other man. Fred's wedding is in the spring, which leaves him about eight months to find a date. That's very doable.

Arthur offers him a smile. "Good."

And that's the end of that.

* * *

Charlie sits across from his sister, dropping his head into his arms dramatically. "I forgot I told Dad I'd bring a date to Fred's wedding."

"It's next week," his sister helpfully points out.

He lifts his head to glare at her. "Wow, thanks, I didn't realize that when I told you I had a problem."

She doesn't seem fazed by his response. "What are you going to do?"

"I dunno, which is why I called you. Mum is expecting me to show up with a date she thinks I've been dating for the last six months. It's going to upset her when I don't, and she'll cry. I don't want to be the reason Mum cries," Charlie says helplessly. He doesn't know what to do when his mother cries, but he's has less than a week until his brother's wedding which leaves little time to find a date.

Ginny drums her fingers on her dining room table thoughtfully. "I may have a friend who knows someone that could help."

"You mean a pretend boyfriend?" he asks.

She nods. "Think about it. My friend's friend shows up, pretends that you two are dating, and at the end of the night, you part ways and never have to worry about it again."

It's a good plan. It only has one downside. "Mum's gonna fuss when I announce we broke up."

Ginny shrugs. "But at least she won't cry at Fred's wedding because of you."

"Fine, set it up. And please don't tell anyone about this," Charlie practically begs.

She snorts as she types a text message, not bothering to look up from her phone. "You're lucky you're my favorite."

By the time Charlie gets home, he has a text message from an unknown number. I'm told a wedding is in my future. When and where? -Draco Malfoy

* * *

The next day, Charlie bounces his leg nervously as he waits for Draco's arrival. He had requested the other man meet up so they could go over everything, and also because he wanted to make sure his sister wasn't pulling one over on him.

He takes a gulp of his coffee as a blond man slides into the seat across from him. Charlie can tell the other man is a bit taller than him, with stunning grey eyes and a sense of confidence. He takes a moment to thank all the gods he can think of; this might actually work.

He slides the coffee he bought for the blond when he arrive towards him. "Thank you for doing this."

"I owed Astoria," Draco says. He inspects the coffee before taking a sip. "Why don't you just tell your mother that you aren't dating anyone?"

Charlie snorts. "She would cry and then fuss about me being lonely. Probably during my brother's wedding, and I just can't do that to Fred. It's better if I break the news after for all of us."

The blond seems to accept that answer. "How are we doing this then?"

"We show up, we mingle, I introduce you to my mother, then you're more than welcome to leave," Charlie informs him.

"No."

"What?" he asks confused.

Draco shakes his head, frowning. "If we're doing this, then we're doing this properly. What happens when people ask how we met or when we started dating and our answers are different?"

He furrows his eyebrows. "Does that really matter?"

"Probably not, but there is a possibility of your mother realizing we're not actually dating during the reception and what do you think would happen in that case?" the blond asks seriously.

Understanding, Charlie grimaces. "Good point."

"Then let's get our stories straight," Draco suggests.

"I think we need more than just coffee for this," he says. "There's a diner not too far away we can grab lunch at and, as you put it, get our stories straight."

The other man stands and gestures for Charlie to lead the way. They make their way to the diner to have lunch. They sit there for a long time, several drinks and a meal long gone, as they discuss things. There's a traitorous voice in the back of his head that reminds Charlie that this feels an awful lot like a date.

The redhead pushes those thoughts away; Draco's doing him a favor, nothing more.

* * *

Charlie watches as George helps straighten Fred's tie. Fred hasn't stopped grinning broadly since he woke up; he doubt there's nothing short of being stood up at the altar that word dampen his brother's mood.

When George deems the tie straight, he stands back to admire his handiwork. "It's the straightest thing about him, don't you think, Charlie?"

"I would say so," he answers, grinning broadly.

"Aren't the two of you supposed to be doing other things?" Fred asks. "Like being helpful."

George claps his hand on his twin's shoulder. "It's my job to provide the entertainment until showtime."

Charlie laughs. His phone vibrates in his pocket. He doesn't have to see the message to know it's Draco. "I've got to go pick up my boyfriend," he announces, proud that he doesn't stumble over the last word. "I'll be back in twenty."

"Don't get distracted by snogging," George calls as Charlie heads out. "Mum would murder you if you missed the wedding because of that."

He can't help the blush that rises on his cheeks. He reminds himself that only Ginny knows that he's not really dating Draco. But their lunch earlier that week definitely made Charlie want to date him.

* * *

Draco look amazing. It's really the only thing that Charlie can comprehend as the blond climbs into the car. The other man was wearing a light blue button down and slacks, and Charlie wants.

He takes a breathe to calm himself. "Ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Draco agrees.

Charlie gives the blond a serious expression. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, it won't be pretty when I tell my mum, but you don't have to do this."

"I already agreed. Let's go."

He has such an urge to kiss the other man. He barely resists; only necessary kissing was approved during their lunch and while it may feel necessary to him, he know it doesn't fit the blond's definition of necessary. Instead, he throws his car into drive and makes the short trip back to the Burrow.

* * *

When they arrive, Charlie takes the other man's hand and guides him to his seat. Most of his family has taken up the front row. Fred's fiance's family isn't large at all; just his parents and grandparents.

He sees his mother light up when she realizes he had, in fact, brought a date. He's relieved when she doesn't come to speak to them. He assumes that's because the wedding is about to start.

His niece, however, has no issues making her way to him. The four year old is surprisingly quick. She holds her arms up so that Charlie can pick her up. He settles her in his lap.

"Who's dat?" she asks.

Charlie's about to introduce him when Draco gives her a soft smile. "I'm Draco, your Uncle Charlie's boyfriend. And you must be Dominique."

His heart contracts painfully when Draco says boyfriend.

Dominique gasps in surprise. "How you know?"

"He talks about you a lot," the blond whispers, grinning at the girl.

Charlie can only think about how good Draco is with children. It makes him want the blond even more.

She leans forward enough so she can twist to look at her uncle. "I like him," she says simply. "Keep him."

Charlie knows he looks like a gaping fish as he opens and closes his mouth repeatedly, trying to come up with an answer to that. Dominique's mother calls for her and the strawberry blond happily skips to Fleur.

Draco snorts when he looks at Charlie. He leans over and whispers, "Well it seems like we're managing just fine."

Only he isn't. All he can think about is how much he wants this to be an actual date.

* * *

Charlie can't remember much about the ceremony itself. It's short and sweet, which he's grateful for. The sooner the night is over, the sooner Charlie can go back to his life before meeting Draco. Some space and he'll forget all about the serious crush he has on the blond.

The reception is nothing but a large party. His family had set up a large tent in their backyard. There's enough space for the tables and a decent sized dance floor. Charlie leads the other man to their assigned table; they're sharing with Bill, Fleur, Victoire, and Dominique.

Dominique claims the seat on the other side of Draco. She's staring up at Draco with her big, brown eyes. By the time dinner is done, Dominique has captured all of the blond's attention.

He looks at his brother and his wife. "Seriously guys, what has gone wrong here?" he asks amused. "I thought I'd have my date's attention."

Bill laughs loudly. "A four year old is more entertaining than you are," he teases.

Charlie's about to reply when there's a knock on the microphone, causing a loud noise. Fred and Oliver stands in front of everyone.

"On behalf of me and Fred, thank you for attending our ceremony," Oliver says, glancing over at Fred with a fondness that Charlie is jealous of. He wants what they have. He wants it with Draco, but that'll never happen.

A cake is brought out and everyone watches as they cut into the cake with a ceremonial knife. Fred promptly tries to shove the cake into Oliver's face, but the other man is anticipating this and manages to shove his slice of cake into Fred's face first. Fred looks pleased with Oliver.

After cake, music starts playing and Fred and Oliver have their first dance as a married couple. When that song answers, both of them bring their mothers onto the dance floor for a dance.

Charlie glances at Draco when the rest of his family joins Fred, Oliver, the their mothers on the dance floor. The blond looks wary but he start strands up and offers his hand to the redhead. They had talked about the possibility of needing to dance at least once, but Charlie wasn't particularly looking forward to that; he's a terrible dancer.

Draco, he finds, is an excellent dancer. He leads Charlie around the dance floor with ease. He's half making sure he's not stepping on the other man's feet and half enjoying the closeness of the dance.

His mother taps his shoulder and smiles at him. "Mind if I steal your date for a song?" she ask him.

Draco gives a small jerk of his head and Charlie nods. "One dance," he says, a smile tugging at his lips.

While Draco leads Molly around the dance floor, no doubt answering the questions that they had covered, Charlie makes his way over to the refreshment table to grab himself a drink.

His sister grabs herself a drink as she pants. It takes a few moments, but her breathing evens out. She gives him a look at he can't read. "Does he know?"

"What?"

"Draco, does he know that you would prefer if it was real, not pretend?" she clarifies.

Charlie finds his date easily on the dance floor. It looks like he's thoroughly charming Molly. He shakes his head. "No. Besides, this was just a favor."

Ginny hums at that. She drains the rest of her drink and heads back to the dance floor before Charlie gets a chance to ask what she meant. He feels like an outcast as he stands at the punch bowl, watching his family dance.

He heads back to the dance floor. He cuts into Draco's dance with Ginny. "We can leave if you want," he leans up to breathe against Draco's ear.

The blond nods his understanding and they make their way out of the crowd. Charlie digs his keys out of his pocket, leading Draco back to his car. He's lucky he was one of the last ones to show up because he'd be boxed in otherwise.

Neither talk on the way to Draco's; they're content to listen to the radio. Charlie parallel parks in front of Draco's building.

"I can't thank you enough for the help," he says.

Draco puts his hand on the handle and hesitates for a brief moment. He nods at Charlie. "Our pre-planning paid off."

Charlie laughs hard. When the laughter dies off, he gives the blond a smile. "I suppose it did. Well, goodnight, Draco."

"Good night, Charlie."

Then Draco is out of the car, and in the building for his flat. Charlie sits there for a moment. This was the best and worst thing to happen to him—his mother didn't cry because of him, but the price was falling for the guy who helped him out as a favor to a friend.

Charlie spends a week moping around before he works up the courage to as Draco on a date. The response is almost instant.

Thought you'd never ask.

* * *

Meet cute: fake dating

Character Appreciation: (relationship) father

Book club: Harold Lauder - (trope) unrequited love, (word) outcast, (emotion) jealousy

Showtime: A Sentimental Man - (relationship) Father/Child

Buttons: (object) toothbrush, (dialogue) "Does s/he know?", (character) Fred Weasley

Tv: Dr. Camille Saroyan: (dialogue) "Seriously guys, tell me what has gone wrong here?", (item) knife, (action) dancing

Liza's Love: Glitter Bomb - Write about a party

Gobstones: Black Stone - Spring; accuracy - (trope) Fake Relationship, power - (song) Ophelia [Honey I love you, that's all she wrote /Oh, Ophelia, you've been on my mind girl like a drug /Oh, Ophelia, heaven help a fool who falls in love], technique - (character) Dominique Weasley

Serpents: Rainbow boa - (AU) Everybody Lives

Insane: 167. Location - The Burrow

365: 22. AU - Everyone lives!AU

Writing month: 2548


	12. Train station

Charlie brings his horses to a stop in front of a watering trough with a gentle tug of the reins. He climbs down from his cart and pets the nose of the horse closest to him, whispering words of praise. He moves on to the second horse, doing the same. He tries the reins around the closest post. "I'll be back in the afternoon."

He heads to the General Store to purchase supplies to last the family farm another month. There's so few knuts left after he's paid. He can't help but worry about that a little. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, he arranges to pick up the supplies later that afternoon.

When the supplies are bought, he heads towards the town's tiny train station. His brothers had taken the train to the east a few months ago, looking for money opportunities, and they were due back by mid-afternoon. He had waited to pick up his supplies until today so that he wouldn't make a second trip into Godric's Hollow to gather them.

The hot sun beats down on Charlie's neck, but he's used to it. He hopes that his brothers had luck back east; he's not sure how their farm will survive without a bit of money, and their town is so tiny and insignificant that there isn't a banker. He takes a seat on a bench as more people gather to greet their loved ones.

He's brought out of his thoughts by a sound of the train. Charlie wipes away the sweat on his face with a handkerchief. His brother, Ron, hops off the train, making his way toward him.

Something catches Charlie's eye and he snaps his attention to the last person off the train. He's clearly wealthy, with an impeccable suit and hat; there's nobody within a hundred miles that dresses that fancy out here. They, more or less, wear clothes that are meant to get dirty, especially the gold miners.

The man tugs on his suitcase, not realizing it's caught. The suitcase tears, and Charlie instinctively rushes forward to help. It takes several moments for the man to realize that his belongings have been thrown astray. Charlie starts picking them up, getting closer to the blond.

Then he catches sight of a collar. Charlie has dogs, but the collar in his hands would fit any dog he's encountered. He frowns and moves to pick up the next item; it's clearly a toy, and he's sure it's an inappropriate one for a child. His suspicions are confirmed when he looks up to see the blond frozen with a deep blush.

"I—uh," the man tries to say.

"You know what, don't. Just don't explain any of this. I'd rather not know," Charlie says, shoving the stuff he's collected into the blond's hands. He thought the west was supposed to be wild.

The blond nods in agreement, his blush still not fading, and manages to get everything into his torn suitcase.

Well, Charlie's mother didn't raise a scoundrel, so he offers, "If you'd like, I have reserved some stuff at the General Store that could probably fix that."

"No need. I'll find somewhere to get it fixed," the blond says. His voice is deeper than Charlie would guess.

He starts to herd the blond towards his brother. "It's really no problem, Mr —"

"Malfoy," his brother supplies, glaring towards the blond. "He's the son of the wealthiest banker in the east."

Charlie blinks in surprise. "We're getting a bank?"

His brother rolls his eyes. "What are you doing with him?"

"Helping," he replies dryly. "Miss Rosmerta is holding our supplies. Best get them before the sun sets. Ginny needed more tools for her sewing. It shouldn't be too difficult to fix that suitcase."

His brother doesn't look pleased at that, but he doesn't make any argument. He mumbles something before heading off towards their cart. It leaves Charlie with the blond.

The man's blush has disappear when Charlie turns back to him. "You don't have to do this."

"What? Be kind?" he asks. "There's no reason not to be. I could probably sweet talk Miss Rosmerta into sewing it while I work the counter," he says thoughtfully, heading towards the store.

It takes several moments for the blond to catch up to him. "I'll pay her. I can also pay you for the assistance earlier."

Charlie rolls his eyes. "That's not necessary."

The argument continues to until they reach the General Store. Miss Rosmerta gives him a bright, warm smile. "Your brother make it back safely?"

"Yes ma'am," he confirms. "Mr Malfoy here is needing a bit of assistance fixing his suitcase."

Miss Rosmerta gestures him forward. "Take over the counter, will ya, Charlie?"

Charlie obligates. He hears Mr Malfoy arguing with Miss Rosmerta and grins; he knows it's a losing battle. He's not sure how long it takes but eventually, Miss Rosmerta slides back behind the counter.

He gathers the supplies—bags of flour and sugar, rope, canning jars, and cloth. He only takes what he can carry. It's going to force him to take a second trip, but that's for the best. Once at the wagon, Ron helps him load it.

Mr Malfoy is waiting in the store for him to come back. "Thank you for the assistance. If you need—"

"I didn't help because I wanted something in return. My mother raised me to help when people need it," he says shrugging.

The blond looks at a loss for words.

"Well, Mr Malfoy, the sun will set soon, and we have a trip ahead of us. Good night," he bids as he tries to leave.

"Draco. My name is Draco," the blond corrects. "When are you coming back into town?"

Charlie gives him a bright grin. "Soon."

This time, he actually leaves with the rest of their supplies. He feels Draco watching him. He now has the time to consider the things he saw in Draco's suitcase. He wonders how the blond kept Miss Rosmerta from seeing them. Then he wonders what Draco uses them for.

That thought eats at him until he comes back into town.

* * *

Meet cute: train station embarrassment

Character Appreciation: Write about someone poor

Book club: Ralph Brentner - (au) farm, (plot point) being the first to notice something important, (object) tools

Button: (object) toy

Gobstones: Bronze Stone - Freedom; accuracy - (setting) America, power - (object) jar, technique - (word) inappropriate

Serpents: Boomslang - (word) wild

Insane: 673. Dialogue - "You know what, don't. Just don't explain any of this. I'd rather not know."

365: 153. Genre - Western

Writing month: 1025


	13. Hide and seek

It all started as a harmless game of hide and seek, Charlie would later swear. It went a little like this:

It's mid-afternoon when Charlie arrives at his brother's house. A visit is long overdue and he's thrilled when his nieces come running into his arms, cheering happily. It's been so long that of course he can't deny them when they ask to play hide and seek.

The counting attracts a few of the neighborhood children. Of course, he's not going to deny the growing group of kids the chance to play.

Somehow, in between one game and the next, it kind of went...sideways, he supposes. One of the kids decide they are the seeker and Charlie mumbles to himself as he journeys off to a shed that his brother has in his backyard to hide; the kids are all old enough for him to pick a harder hiding place. It also helps that he knows how to break his way into the shed. That's what went wrong, he reflects.

He's not sure how long he's been sitting there in near complete darkness, in between the girls' bicycles and Bill's lawn mower, but the shed door slam open and he's blinded by sudden light. He's ready to congratulate the kid when he hears laughter, and blinks until his vision settles.

It takes several moments to realize what is going on. His sister's boyfriend and a blond are standing in the doorway to the shed, their batons at the ready. "Hey Charlie," Harry greets, putting his weapon away.

"Hiya Harry," Charlie says, chuckling a bit as he gets out of the shed.

The blond is slower to put his baton away. Harry turns to his partner and informs him, "He's one of Ron's brother."

This seems to put the blond at ease. Charlie studies the man for a moment. He's tall, with short cropped hair and a sense of self confidence. He's exactly what Charlie finds attractive, and well, he also looks great in his uniform.

Harry's next question brings him out of his thoughts. "Are you going to explain why we got a call about someone breaking into the neighbor's shed?"

He laughs brightly. "Vicki and Dom wanted to play hide and seek, and it kinda snowballed from there. Honestly, I didn't think anyone was really paying attention."

Satisfied, Harry turns to the blond. "Come on, Draco. I suppose we should get back to all the real crime happening."

Charlie grins at hearing the blond's name.

"I would suggest not breaking into anymore houses," Draco says as he goes to follow Harry back to their car.

He can't just let the blond leave without saying something. "You can handcuff me anytime you like, Draco. You'll find I'm rather...enthusiastic about it," he says, winking.

Draco freezes in shock, but Harry pulls him away before he gets a chance to reply. A few days later, Charlie gets a text from the blond. He counts it as a win.

* * *

 **Pairing the Character: Draco**

Meet cute: hide and seek

Character Appreciation: (location) shed

Book Club: Larry Underwood - (plot point) going into hiding, (action) breaking into someone's home, (word) journey

Serpents: Cottonmouth - (word) mumble

Insane: 751. Job - Policeman

365: 349. Word - Harmless

Word count: 498


	14. Embroidery group

Draco walks in the door, a roll of parchment, a quill, and inkwell in his hands, and immediately regrets it. The room is filled with an assemblage of women much older than his mother, with glasses perched on the tips of their noses as they chat and work on something in their laps. He wants to leave, to go and never come back, but his mother had begged him to go and he told her he would, for her.

He resigns himself to learning whatever these women are doing, putting aside his pride to ease his mother's mind. Maybe he'll take a finished product back to his mother and she'll stop worrying.

He sits down in one of the few available chairs and unrolls his parchment, dips his quill, and writes, "Will you teach me?" as neatly as he can manage. He shows it to a woman next to him; she reminds him a lot of his grandmother, a stern look that softens as she reads his words.

She studies him for a long moment before nodding. He's thankful she doesn't ask about why he doesn't ask aloud. She pulls out her wand and summons three items. She explains each of them—embroidery frame, fabric, a needle, and thread. The woman hands him the assembled fabric in the embroidery frame, and a threaded needle.

Draco aptly pays attention to her as she shows him how to make the stitches. He scribbles, "Again," a few times but by the time the group packs up to leave, he's caught the hang of the stitches she teaches him.

"Are you coming back next week, young man?" she asks.

"Is it the same time?" he writes. When she tells him it's the same time and place every month, Draco nods. "I'll be here."

"Keep practicing," she suggests. "I'll teach you more stitches next month."

He loathes to admit it but embroidery is a bit relaxing.

* * *

When he shows up the next month, he freezes in the doorway. There's a redheaded man with a large grin, sitting with the woman who taught him last month. There's absolutely no mistaking who it is; he's a Weasley, but Draco doesn't recognize him.

This was supposed to be good for him. His mother assured him at nobody was going to know him. He's ready to flee when the woman looks up and gives him an encouraging smile. "Have you been practicing?" she calls out.

Weasley doesn't turn to look at him. Draco files that away to examine later, but for now he has no other option; he moves to take a seat on the other side of her. He shows her the prewritten answer of "Yes, I've practiced." It causes her to smile.

It's when he sits down that Weasley finally faces Draco. He's expecting a snide remark or give him some other look of disdain, but he find only curiosity in his blue eyes. It unsettles him; Weasley is up to something, he's sure of it. Maybe to learn about Draco's weakness to report back to his family.

"I didn't know you embroidered, Draco," he says. It's a bit too loud, as if he doesn't know how to use a voice appropriate for indoors; a quick glance around, and Draco observes that none of the others have an issue with his volume.

"He came last month, when you were sick," the woman answers for him, pulling a stitch through. She slips the needle into the fabric expertly, and turns towards Draco. "Now, come on. Let me see what you've done."

Begrudgingly, Draco digs out his embroidery frame from his pocket and casts a non-verbal spell to enlarge it. She takes it to inspect it. He kept to the same fabric to master the stitches. He's worked from left to right, top to bottom almost systematically. It's clear to see his improvement by how each row gets more tidy than the one before.

"You've done well," she tells him.

Weasley glances at it, surprise written on his face. "You taught him to embroider only last month, Winnie?"

Winnie grins and nods. She gives Draco another square of fabric as she talks to Charlie. He struggles through clamping it in between the pieces of the embroidery frame.

When he looks up, Weasley has returned to his own embroidery. Draco can't see what it is, but his embroidery frame is quite large. The redhead is talking loudly with all of the women; he sounds like he's been coming to this group a lot.

By the time the group ends, Draco has successfully embroider fuck you, that's why in green with silver outlining. He plans to make some border around before the next meeting.

He hears a loud laugh over his shoulder and snaps his attention to the source. Weasley grins at him.

"I hope you're not going to give that to your mother," he says.

Draco glares at him. It doesn't seem to faze the redhead.

Weasley shrugs. "Anyways, I guess I'll see you next month."

He stays there for a long moment, wondering just what the other man is up to.

* * *

"You never talk," Weasley announces, when the women have left.

Draco's heart skips a beat. He was hoping the redhead wouldn't figure it out. An enemy who know his weakness. He hasn't written anything on the parchment he brings in hopes that Weasley wouldn't find out.

"Look, I'm not going to use it against you," he says. His voice is still too loud for Draco.

He can't resist the urge to write, "But you're a Weasley," on his parchment.

The redhead laughs at that, his head thrown back. "You'll find that people are more than their names," he replies. Then he adds, "Ever since the battle, I can't hear out of my right ear and I've only got a limited hearing in my left."

Suddenly, his loud voice and lack of hearing Draco approach the first time they met makes sense. He searches the redhead's face for a hint of a lie and only finds the truth.

"Why tell me something like that?" he writes.

"To show you I understand what it's like to lose something you never thought you'd lose," he answers, shrugging. "It's difficult to try to live with. I had to quit my job as a Tamer because of it. If you ever want someone to discuss it with, besides worried mothers, I'd read whatever you would write."

Draco vanishes all the words but 'why' of his previous question.

Weasley gives him a sad smile. "Everyone deserves a second chance. I would be lying if I said that I'm not aware of the choices you made or the fact that Ron hates your guts. But if I judged you solely on that, it wouldn't be fair. Good night, Draco. See you next month."

Before the redhead gets a chance to leave, Draco scribbles, "You offer that but not your name," and floats it in front of him.

"It's Charlie," he says.

Draco thinks of the redhead's justification the entire way home. His mother waits for him at the kitchen table, her hand around a tea cup. When she spots him, she says, "Tell me something good."

He sits across from her at the table and write about the group. When Narcissa reads it, she gives him a smile and pats his hand. "I knew getting you out of the Manor would do you good."

He doesn't have the heart to tell her that he misses his voice now more than ever. But there's nothing the Healer can do to fix the spell damage and telling her would only upset her further. He realizes that Weasley was right; there's just somethings he can't tell her about because he doesn't want to upset her.

He works up a smile to give her.

* * *

Later—much, much later—Charlie'll hand Draco an embroidery square with a magnificent dragon of a deep purple-black on it. In return, he'll give the redhead a square that would say "I hate you the least."

Charlie'll laugh before kissing him. When they'll part, Draco will be thankful for the group his mother begged him to join. He still won't be able to talk and Charlie still won't be able to hear, but somehow, it'll be okay. They'll be okay because they understand each other.

* * *

Meet cute: craft group

Character appreciation: (Object) Glasses

Book Club: Nick Andros - (au) deaf-mute, (trait) intelligent, (emotion) distrust

Library Loves: (floor one)

(AU) disability  
(dialogue) "Tell me something good."  
Write about trying to change someone's mind

Serpents: Pit viper- (word) tidy

Insane: 362. Word - Assemblage - (A gathering)

365: 351. Word - Justify

Writing month: 1387


	15. Assassins

There's a feeling in the pit of Charlie's stomach of which too many years at his job has made him wary. He stills and closes his eyes, listening to the world around him for disturbance. His eyes snap open as his self-defense instincts awaken. He easily sidesteps a man wielding a dagger.

Within a few moves, Charlie has the would-be assassin disarmed and in a tight hold. The man struggles in his arms. The man is no trained assassin, so he's really no threat to Charlie. "I'm going to let you go," he says.

Then he lets go. The man turns around, his cheek red from anger and maybe humiliation, and glares at Charlie. He's no older than Charlie's youngest brother, with short, blond hair and piercing grey eyes. Even with the red cheeks, he's attractive.

Charlie knows the moment before the blond man pulls another dagger and crosses the space between them. Charlie deflects the second attempt with practiced ease, putting the blond into another hold.

"How about you tell me what you're trying to kill me over before I release you this time?" he asks.

"You killed my parents."

It's said with total and utter confidence that Charlie's grip loosens and the blond manages to slip away. He's surprised when the man doesn't attack him a third time.

"You broke your way into our house and murdered them," the blond spits out.

This makes him pause. He hasn't broken into a house for a contract in nearly a year. "When?"

The man scoffs. "Like you don't know."

Charlie rubs the back of his neck. This talk down isn't going to be easy. "Who exactly told you that I killed them? I haven't had a contract kill in a few weeks."

"You're lying." he accuses.

Quickly weighing his choices, Charlie sighs. He's not too far from the sanctuary. "As long as you don't try to kill me again, I can show you proof. I mean, I'll have to blindfold you and all, but you'll get proof." When the blond hesitates, he shrugs. "You'll get to find out who really killed your parents. Isn't calling a truce here worth that?"

When the blond finally nods, Charlie picks up the dagger from the ground and offers it back toward him. After, he rips a piece of his black cloak and obscures the man's vision.

"What's your name?" Charlie asks, leading him towards home base.

It's obvious the man is trying to determine whether or not to answer when the silence stretches on. Then he answers, "Draco."

"With a bit of practice, you'd make a good assassin," he says, conversationally. "Been awhile since anyone's gotten that close before I realized they were there."

"What are you doing? Trying to recruit me?" Draco demands.

Charlie makes a noise of agreement. "The Order's always looking for new, skilled members."

Out the corner of his eyes, he can see the blond scowling at him. "You think I would join the organization that had my parents murdered?"

He sighs. It's not too much longer before they'll reach the Room of Requirement's entrance. He's not sure why he's so keen on bringing this man into the Order's ranks.

* * *

When he opens the sanctuary's entrance, he immediately puts his finger to his mouth, signalling for everyone to be quiet. His mother puts her hands on her hips when she sees him, but thankfully, she doesn't question him.

He navigates through the halls, directing the blond in the right direction. Finally, he comes to a stop in front of full length mirror. He unties the makeshift blindfold.

The blond looks into the mirror and glares at Charlie. "This is supposed to be your proof?"

Charlie laughs. "It's called the Mirror of Erised. Back before magic died out, a sorcerer enchanted a mirror—this mirror—to show them their heart's desire. Long after the sorcerer died, the Order got ahold of it."

He moves out of the view of the mirror, so only Draco stood before it. "When a member of the Order stands before the it, the mirror shows us who needs to be killed to keep the peace of the world, since that's what we want the most. However, there's not always a contract attached when we stare into it. Go on, see for yourself."

Whatever the mirror is showing Draco isn't good. The blond starts shaking. Charlie steps in front of the mirror, blocking his view.

Draco doesn't look away from where he was staring at the mirror. "Me killing my aunt. But that can't be. She wouldn't kill my mother."

He guides the blond from the room and towards the dining area. He knows that Butterbeer is just the right thing for looking into the mirror for the first time.

There's something about how he felt the drawn to the mirror today. He knows better than to chalk this up to happenstance. "Your aunt isn't a woman with really curly raven hair and a large sapphire ring who lives in Little Hangleton by any chance?"

Draco's look says it all. Everything is making sense now. He's long since learned the mirror doesn't do anything randomly; there's always a reason. So Charlie shows Draco to a table before heading to pick up Butterbeers, where his mother is waiting for him.

"You brought an outsider in," she says, soft but firm. "You better have a good reason."

His mother softens when he explains the situation. He has a panacea. "I'm going to take him with on the contract, if he wants. But given the fact he was willing to try to kill me, I don't think he'll pass up a chance at real vengeance."

She slides the tankards toward him and says, "I trust you know what you're doing."

"I always know what I'm doing," he replies, giving her a big grin. He takes the drinks over to the blond to propose his idea.

* * *

Charlie gently pulls the blond away from where he's standing over the corpse of his aunt. Draco lets himself be directed out of his aunt's house and back into the cover of the forest.

"Doesn't make you feel what you thought you would?" Charlie says as they come upon their old campsite. He's quick to relight the fire, poking at it until it's a decent size.

"No," he admits, staring at the fire. "Does the killing ever get easier?"

"With time, yes. Does that mean you're considering joining the Order?" For some inexplicable reason, Charlie is pleased when the blond nods. "We'll start your training when we get back. Just think of what we could do together if this is how well it went with you untrained."

* * *

Charlie feels the cold tip of the dagger against his neck and is impressed. None of his warning bells had went off as Draco has approached. The blond's stealth rivals Charlie's own, if not surpasses it.

"Do you surrender?" Draco whispers against the shell of his ear.

"Only if you make it worth it," Charlie replies cheekily.

In the span of a few moments, the dagger is dropped and Charlie's back hits the tree as Draco kisses him soundly. A few months ago, Charlie would have never imagined this; the comfort he finds in the blond.

He's never found comfort with just the presence of one of his previous lovers. Maybe because they didn't know about his work. He didn't have to worry about a fall out with Draco the way he did with the others. Draco knew about his work from the start.

The blond pulls away. "The mirror called to me. I have a contract in Hogsmeade. There's word that the dragon riders and their leader will be in the city."

"Sold," he says, grinning like a fool. Draco kisses the grin off his face.

As they get ready to travel to Hogsmeade, Charlie can't stop grinning. To think, this all started with a tragedy.

* * *

Meet cute: assassins

Disney: One Jump Ahead - Write about a close call

Book club: Stuart Redman - (word) self defense, (plot point) assassination attempt, (word) leader

Showtime: Defying Gravity - (dialogue) "Think of what we could do together."

Buttons: Serial Killer!AU

Scavenger: Write a fic featuring the item: The Mirror of Erised

Serpents: Paradise flying snake - (setting) Newt Scamander's Suitcase alt: The Room of Requirement

365: 17. AU - Assassin!AU

Insane: 432. Word - Panacea - (A solution for all problems)

Resolutions: Pick a dark theme and fluff it.

Writing month: wc 1318


	16. Gods and goddesses

Sleep is for the weak, and by god, Charlie wants to be weak. Unfortunately for him, it's exam week and, well, he's a procrastinator. He has a four thousand word essay due for one class and three other classes of exams to study for and he's done exactly none of it.

Which is why he's in the library, a bag full of Red Bulls, snacks, and his laptop. His plans are to crank out his essay sometime before 6 am and then sleep for a solid two hours before class.

The library is unsurprisingly bustling with other procrastinators. It takes some doing, but he finds a quiet corner of the library on the third floor where he can set up his laptop, bust open his first Red Bull of the night, and start on his essay.

Several Red Bulls and snacks later, he realizes he needs the other source he found when the essay was first assigned; he's sure there's a copy of the book he needs downstairs. He stands and stretches, before checking the clock—2 am, not too shabby. By this rate, it'll be half four when he finishes.

He heads down to the first floor to find his last source. He heads directly to the section he needs before the hunt truly begins. The feeling that something's off brews in the pit of his stomach. He doesn't know what or how, but he knows. He follows his gut until he reaches a shelf.

The shelf is just off. Charlie moves closer to inspect it. There's an indescribable urge to touch the book on the top shelf that looks old and worn. The thought that he probably shouldn't touch the book comes the second after he does.

The library seems to vanish from around him, being replaced with white marble pillars and temples. Charlie knows enough about history to recognize it as Greek architecture. Glancing out, it looks like someone has taken a paint brush to the sky, with an expert mix of pinks, purples, and blues of a setting sun. He has to be dreaming; that's the only explanation for why he's no longer in the library. He pinches himself.

It hurts.

He's not dreaming. He digs his palms into his eyes until he sees stars. When he opens them, he's still not in the library.

"Are you over your shock or do you need more time?" a person asks.

Charlie turns toward the voice and he's greeted by the sight of a beautiful man, with blond hair and a smirk as he leisurely eats a grape. There is no way a man can be that beautiful so he pinches himself a second time.

It still hurts.

Everything is pointing towards this being real. Charlie tentatively asks, "Where exactly am I?"

"Mount Olympus," the beautiful man answers.

"Mount Olympus as in where the gods and goddesses the ancient Greeks prayed to resided? That Mount Olympus?" he inquires.

The man takes another group of grapes from the tray of fruits next to him. He pops one in his mouth, and Charlie can't help but think that he didn't think anyone could make eating a grape sexy, but this man can.

"One and the same," he replies easily.

"Okay," he starts, "let's just pretend I believe that. How did I get here? I was browsing the library not even ten minutes ago."

The man laughs. "Hecate's magic seems to know when a god or goddess starts to feel the urge to give their title away. Somehow, the next chosen title barer finds an object that brings them here. Mine was a candlestick."

Charlie blinks at the man. "Assuming I believe that, which one are you?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" he questions. There's an unmistakable note of amusement in his tone that Charlie likes.

"It's been a while since a history class actually covered the Greek gods and goddesses," he admits, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

The man draws himself up to full height. He's taller than Charlie. He can't tell much beyond the toga, but there's a part of Charlie that wouldn't mind finding out just how the blond looks without the toga on. As he crosses the distance between them, realization finally dawns on him—he's Aphrodite.

"Ah, I see you finally figured it out," the man comments. He manages to direct Charlie out of the temple and down a marble path.

Charlie takes this information in stride. "So either gender can take up the title?"

"Obviously," Aphrodite drawls, a smirk playing on his lips. "Hecate's magic somehow just knows who to pick."

"You were human too?"

This causes the blond to pause and turn towards the redhead. "My name was Draco once upon a time. I can't remember how long. Being Aphrodite has it perks, though. Like knowing you'd find your way here."

Charlie can clearly see as Draco's eyes flicker up and down, assessing him, and he fights the urge to shift under the scrutiny. Then Draco meets Charlie's eyes with a pair of breathtaking grey eyes. He feels heat rush to his cheeks as he understands what Aphrodite meant by that.

He has a lot of questions, but they stick in his throat. He can't help but want to follow this beautiful man. He'll get his answers later. For now though, he'll follow Draco.

* * *

Meet cute: god

Buttons: (word) fruit

Gobstones: White Stone - Faith; accuracy - (song) "What About Us" by Pink [It's the start of us, waking up, come on /Are you ready? I'll be ready /I don't want control, I want to let go], power - (object) paint brush, technique - (action) Brewing.

Scavenger: Write a Fluffy Fic

Serpents: Eastern tiger snake- (word) vanish

Cards: Magic: The Gathering - write about accidental magic

Lent: No using the word 'said'.

Insane: 703. First Line - Sleep was for the weak

365: 207. Plot Point - A character finds something

Writing month: 891


	17. EMT

Charlie knows it's going to be a long night when he see dark cloud brewing on the horizon. Storms tend to cause the most accidents, after all, and this one feels particularly nasty. As much as he wishes, he can't keep accidents from happening; he can only work to save them afterwards.

He spends the afternoon with his partner and the firefighter crew, playing poker to pass the time in between calls. He really should stop while he's ahead; Parvati has a mean poker face, and it wouldn't be surprising if she could count cards. She's won more than she's lost and Charlie's quickly running out of money.

He's just about to fold when the EMTs are notified of a car crash. It takes him and Parvati almost no time at all to get into the ambulance and head towards the crash site with Parvati behind the wheel. He usually drives, but during bad weather, she likes to drive because apparently his normal driving is dangerous during storms. Who knew?

The music is playing softly, and Charlie can barely hear the rain hitting the top of the ambulance over the siren. This is his favorite type of weather; he likes to curl up in an armchair with a book on days like these.

Parvati puts the ambulance into park and shuts of the sirens. They are not the only EMTs at the scene. It's a nasty several car pile up, and to be frank, Charlie is surprised that one of the other EMT pairs are tending to breathing humans.

They hop out into the pouring rain and rush to gather their bags before heading towards the cars to see what they can do. Charlie's adrenalin keeps him from noticing the chill in the air.

Firefighters are trying to force their way into the car in the middle to get to the driver. There's really nothing him or Parvati can do for the person until they are freed of the car. He moves to the car in the front of the pile up.

There's a man at the wheel, slumped over with blood matting his hair. He motions for Parvati to help him as they force their way into the driver's side. He checks for a pulse, and upon finding one, Parvati runs to get their stretcher, while Charlie stays with the man.

After checking for a broken neck, the two of them move him to the stretcher and back to their ambulance. It takes several minutes for the man to regain consciousness. Charlie throws their shock blanket around the man's shoulder. Parvati has taken off to see if they can be any more help, while he stays. The man looks so young with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He can even see blond under the matted blood.

Charlie can tell the exact moment he realizes what is going on. He pulls at the oxygen mask over his mouth as he starts to shrug off the blanket. "You gotta keep both of them on," he tells the man, pulling the blanket back around his thin shoulders. "It's procedure."

"I got to—wait, you. What?" the man looks at him with these eyes like liquid silver.

Charlie feels the world pause for a moment. He knows those word. In that exact order. He's had them scrawled around his bicep since he was eight. He's waited years to meet his soulmate, and of course he meets them while at work. He can't believe his luck.

Before Charlie gets a chance to say something, the blond visibly shakes his head. "Later," he mumbles to himself. Then he says louder, "I need a phone. It's important."

"Keep those one and I'll bring you mine," he says. When the man does as he's told, Charlie goes to the front of the ambulance to grab his phone.

He hands the phone to the man, as Parvati comes back. "They got the woman out. She's alive. They've taken her to the hospital." Her eyes flicker over to their patient. "Concussion?"

"Doesn't seem like it." It's true; all of the blond's memories seem to be intact and he's not losing focus or looking green.

He turns his attention back to the blond, who has Charlie's phone against his ear, talking in a low voice. "I think I've been made. You need to pull Astoria out now."

Shit. He knows that talk. Ron's been in deep cover before. Fear courses through his veins. He doesn't even know his soulmate's name but it doesn't even matter. All he knows is the other man is in trouble and they need to get him some place safe now.

"Come on, we're taking you to the hospital," he says loudly.

Parvati goes to protest but it dies on her lips when she meets his eyes. She nods and goes to get in the front. The man gives Charlie his own look of confusion as Charlie all but forces the blond into the ambulance and shuts the door behind him.

"Thanks Par," he calls as she starts to drive. "Head for the hospital and then we can go back to our station."

Parvati doesn't question the order; she trusts his judgement. Without the rush of adrenalin, Charlie starts to realize he's cold from the rain and his clothes are soaking wet. Unfortunately, the trip back to the station is going to take a bit of time.

He turns back to the other man. "Charlie Weasley," he introduces himself.

"Draco Malfoy," the man responds.

Charlie recognizes the name. His brother talked about the blond before; they had been in the same academy class. He looks younger than late twenties he knows the man to be.

"So Draco," he says conversationally, "how long have you been under?"

* * *

Meet cute: EMT

Character appreciation: (trait) reliable

Showtime: Popular - (character) Parvati Patil

Buttons: (au) Undercover Detective!AU

Restriction

Liza's Loves: Dark 'N' Stormy - Write about a storm

Library Lover: The Supernaturalist - (plot point) Near-death experiences, (plot point) Looking much younger than they are,(occupation) Healer

Serpents: Tokara habu - (AU) Soulmate

Cards: Hearts - write a meet cute

Lent: 960 words (the number of hours in Lent)

365: 154. Item - Blanket

Insane: 218. AU - Detective

Writing month: 960


	18. Cemetery

For an hour, every Wednesday afternoon, Draco sits across from a woman with a stern face, her hair swept back in a tight bun. The only reason he's here is because his mother had begged him; she wouldn't stop until he agreed. His mother had given him the information for Minerva McGonagall, one of the best psychologists in the area.

"How are you this week?" Minerva asks. She has a notebook in her lap, where she keeps careful notes of his answers.

He hates Wednesdays. But nevertheless, he answers, "Astoria filed for divorce Monday."

"It's not uncommon for people who lost a child to separate," she says softly.

The mere mention of Scorpius makes Draco's heart ache. His son was the light in the dark, even when he was sick. It still hurts too much to talk about his son.

Minerva, however, talks to him in a way that makes him want to open up, something that not even Astoria could do. She gently coaxes Draco until he answers her questions. He hates talking about his own feelings, but she'll prod him into he shares. There's a look of understanding in her eyes instead pity.

"Moving on doesn't mean you're betraying Scorpius' memory. It means that you learned that you need to have a feeling of closer in order to survive," she tells firmly. Her final advice before their weekly time is up.

Draco swallows the urge to protest that it doesn't feel right. How can he really move on when his son is dead?

* * *

His day started terribly and only went downhill from there. It's nearly dark when Draco makes it home. He sighs with relief as he unknots his tie, leaves his briefcase by the door, as he ventures further into his flat.

He goes to open the fridge to see what he can make for dinner when he looks at the calendar stuck on the door. It can't be. He mentally checks the date and shame washes over him.

He yanks his tie over his head, dropping it on the counter. He grabs his keys and heads for the door. Locking the door behind him, he starts towards the cemetery. It's not too far from his house, and there's still enough light for him to make the walk instead of taking his car.

He's passing by the house on the corner when he spots the roses. He's reminded of little Scorpius offering him a rose from the rosebush that him and Astoria had planted the previous year. Scorpius had looked so happy.

With little hesitancy, Draco picks one from the rosebush. He's about to make off with the flower when he hears, "I hope whoever you give that to is pretty."

Draco freezes. He wasn't anticipating on being caught. "I—uh," he stutters, turning to face the person.

The man is short and stocky, with long red hair and a wide grin, despite catching him stealing a rose. He nods towards the rose in his hand. "Got a hot date?"

It would seem that his terrible day continues to strike, because somehow, while trying to convince the man that the rose isn't for a date, he insists on coming along. The redhead wants to see who the rose is going to and Draco can't correct the assumption because he can't swallow around Scorpius' name.

Somehow, despite wanting to be alone, the man accompanies Draco on the walk to the cemetery, holding a rose of his own. He doesn't seem too bothered by Draco's lack of answers. Instead, he keeps up a steady stream of conversation as they walk.

Draco half-heartedly listens to the redhead, who's name is Charlie. He talks about his job and his family and their neighbors. For some reason he doesn't understand, the talking doesn't frustrate him.

The wind start blowing a little bit, making Draco wish he would've grabbed his coat and scarf. Finally, the cemetery comes into sight.

He doesn't give the redhead a second glance as he enters the cemetery. He does, however, note that the other man has fallen quiet. Navigating through, Draco easily find Scorpius' grave. There's already a rose on his son's grave—Astoria has been here already.

He can hear the church bells ring out the hour as he kneels and places the rose next to Astoria's. He can hardly believe that it's been an entire year. There was a time when Draco thought that he would never live without Scorpius and Astoria, back when he thought that nothing bad could ever happen to his family.

He's brought out of his thoughts by a whispered, "Shit."

He stands. The redhead leans down and puts his rose on Scorpius' grave. He frowns at the man. "You didn't even know him," he says confused. "Why'd you put the rose?"

Charlie looks at Draco with a clear blue eyes full of understanding, and he's reminded of his psychologist. "I don't have to know him to pay respects," the redhead says. He shoves his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed to come."

Draco just nods, looking back at the headstone. It's hard to believe that the only proof of Scorpius' life is a piece of marble. He worries that one day, he'll forget the four years he had with his son. Maybe, perhaps, he'll only forget the good and be stuck with the bad memories, the memories of the what the disease that passed down through their bloodlines did to Scorpius.

Charlie speaks again. He can hear the chattering of the redhead's teeth as he manages, "I know that I have no right to tell you when you have to leave, but you'll freeze if you stay out here much longer."

Draco shivers as he finally feels the cold. He nods his understanding. He presses a kiss to his fingertips and taps the headstone. "I miss you, and I love you," he whispers.

The redhead watches the exchange with no comments. He seems more subdue on the trip back; there's a comfortable silence that's settle between the two of them as they walk. There's something about the other man that makes Draco think that he's not the only one of the two of them to experience the loss of a loved one.

Draco only momentarily hesitates when they make it to Charlie's house. He's a few steps away when he hears the other man say, "You can take a rose whenever you want."

"Thanks," he says sincerely. The redhead vanishes into the house before Draco starts to move, too cold not to seek the warmth of his flat.

The next Wednesday, Draco talks about his neighbor and the trip to the cemetery. He talks about his plans to take another rose to Scorpius grave the next weekend. Minerva gives him a small smile as she jots that down. Draco's not sure what she's smiling about, but for the first time, he doesn't feel like he's stuck in his grief.

Maybe Minerva is right; it won't be bad to move on.

* * *

Meet cute: cemetery

Disney: The Genie - Write about someone feeling trapped

Buttons: (character) Minerva McGonagall

Tv: Dr. Lance Sweets: (AU) Psychologist, (action) giving advice, (character) Minerva McGonagall

Scavenger: Write a fic breaking up a canon pairing (Draco/Astoria)

Library Lovers: Sabriel - (object) Bell, (plot point) Missing loved one, (plot point) Taking on responsibilities, (word) Bloodlines

Serpents: Cascabel - (object) scarf

Cards: Solitaire - write about someone who wants to be alone

Insane: 526. Action - Whispering

365: 121. Event - Anniversary


	19. Robbery

Honestly, Draco wasn't expecting for a wizard riding a dragon to burst through Gringotts' doors. One, because he never thought that dragons were ever tamed like that. Two, because, well it's Gringotts. He found both of these assumptions to be false.

All he wanted was to get the galleons out of his vault to spend at the Leaky Cauldron for some Firewhiskey. He needed it after the day he had at the Ministry. He waited in line restlessly, as it slowly moved. Just when he was about to talk to the Goblin about accessing his vault, everything went sideways. Quite literally.

The doors of Gringotts slammed open and Draco heard the roar of a dragon. He stood there surprised until somebody pulled him down, flames narrowly missing him.

From where he was crouching, he saw a redhead who was facing the dragon and the wizard. It was unmistakably a Weasley, though which one was beyond him. This Weasley had to be older than him, since he didn't see him at Hogwarts.

Weasleys have long been Gryffindors, and well, that explained why the redhead was facing down a dragon without so much as a wand being drawn. Draco, however, couldn't take his eyes off Weasley. There were words shouted, but Draco couldn't tell you what they were about. His entire focus narrowed down to the redhead, and he didn't know why.

He watched as, in the face of a dragon, Weasley started dancing. Well, it wasn't dancing, per say. Draco grew up learning to dance and what the other man was doing didn't come close to any known dances. It was more dragon-like, with roars and pawing at an enemy and spreading of wings. Weasley was twisting and turning and roaring.

The dragon roared again and Draco heard the screams of the rider as he was dislodged; bystanders were quick to detain the wizard. The dragon mimicked Weasley, spreading its wings fully as it stood on its back legs.

That was when it hit Draco—Weasley was performing a mating dance with the dragon. Laughter bubbled up in his chest. That man had really just performed a dragon mating dance to stop a robbery.

After the Aurors were spoken to and the Dragon Reserve contacted, everyone was finally able to leave. He was heading to the Leaky Cauldron, galleons in his pocket, as he saw Weasley heading toward his brother's shop.

He couldn't explain why, but he shouted for the man to wait, and then invited him to get drinks. If the man could face down a dragon without hesitation, Draco was sure that he could handle speaking to a Malfoy. There was a grin on the redhead's face as he accepted.

Years later, Draco would look back on this moment fondly. Who knew that all it would take for Draco to find love was an attempted robbery of Gringotts.

* * *

Meet cute: robbery

Character Appreciation: (Occupation) Ministry Worker

Cards: Rook - write about someone pure

Insane: 173. Location - Gringotts

365: 247. Restriction - No Dialogue


	20. Hotel

Charlie pants as he climbs up to his feet. He hears Marlene laughing. He turns to face her; she looks just as winded as he feels, with her redden cheeks and messy hair. He realizes what's happening a second before it happens.

He brings his hands up to block the kick she's aimed at him. He barely manages to keep upright and Marlene presses her advantage hard. Charlie somehow manages to block her subsequent punch and knock her feet out from under her.

She hits the mat. He doesn't hesitate to take advantage of that. He uses his strength to keep her pinned. "Mercy?" he asks.

He feels the tip of a knife against his ribs. There's a reason she's one of the best agents. When he glances at her, she's giving him a cheshire grin. "I do believe it's you should ask for mercy."

He climbs to his feet again, and offers her his hand. She takes it, allowing him to pull her up, and dropping the knife in the process. She walks to the edge of their practice mat to get a drink of water.

"Seriously, how have you survived this long?" she questions.

Charlie glares. "You cheated."

She laughs loudly, "Using my tail isn't cheating. What are you going to do when you're up against another demon? Think they won't use their tail because it's 'cheating'?"

Marlene grabs a towel and starts to dry herself. Charlie grumbles he grabs his water bottle and towel. Instinctively, he knows that she's right. He needs to consider everything a threat. But it's just so wrong when a demon uses their tail during a fight; he avoids using his wings unless they'll make the difference in life and death.

He's walking towards the showers when someone pops their head into the training room. "Weasley, Amelia wants you as soon as you're done."

"I'll be up in ten," he replies easily. He hears the door shut, so he continues on to the bathroom.

"Weasley," Marlene calls. "Next week, same time. You'll have better hand-to-hand skills if it kills me."

Charlie snorts at that. "I'll see you then."

* * *

Amelia Bones is the most well known agents the Order has. She spent years working her way up the ladder, most of that time a spy, before becoming the director. Charlie shudders just thinking about the things she did.

She glances up when he knocks on her door. She motions him to the chairs in front of her. "Ah, Charlie, just who I needed."

He takes a seat and grabs the folder she offers. He flips it open. One side is the face of Voldemort staring up at him from the photo. He doubts that there's an agent in the Order who can't recognize the demon. He looks at the other side. It has a two pictures—one a handsome blond man and the other a silver dragon.

"It's become clear that Voldemort is trying to recruit one Draco Malfoy for his ability to shapeshift. I'm sure you can imagine they type of things he could do with a person who has an ability like that, especially one with the ability to shift into such a creature. I want you to recruit Malfoy first," Amelia says.

"Wouldn't someone else be better for this job?" he asks, looking up from the folder.

She frowns. "If you don't want this, I can get another agent, but you're my first pick."

He glances down at the file again. There's really not much to go on. The blond lives in Hogsmeade, but travels to Hogwarts frequently. He's an engineer, working on some clean energy projects. Nothing about his file points to why Voldemort wants him, aside from his shapeshifting ability.

"I'll take it," he says decisively. He's always wanted to see a dragon up close before. He suspects that why Amelia wants him on this one.

She gives him a nod and turns back to whatever she is doing. "Two weeks," she commands.

Charlie takes the file back to his desk. He digs out his books on shapeshifters and dragons. He has two weeks to figure out a way to recruit Draco and possibly figure out the real reason Voldemort is interested in the blond.

* * *

Charlie times it perfectly. Draco's due back in Hogwarts a week into Charlie's operation. With a little help from Remus, he knows exactly where the blond is staying. He uses his persuasion to get access to the hotel's computers and to nick a key.

He's sitting in the chair, with the lights off, as he waits for the shapeshifter. He stills when he hears the sound of footsteps getting closer. The door clicks unlocked and he sees the shadow of the blond enter the darkened room.

Draco drops his bags when he notices Charlie. There's barely two seconds before he's looking at a dragon instead of a person. He didn't believe in love at first sight until now. Dear god, the photo of Draco's shifted form has absolutely nothing on the real thing; well, to be fair, neither did the picture of Draco's human form.

Oh hell, he thinks as he realizes he's caught up in his own amazement. He can recognize the signs of a dragon about to blow fire any day of the week. He quickly holds his hands in a defensive posture, while he calls, "Not here to kill you!"

It gives him just enough time to use Draco's confusion to continue talking. "You're being followed by the Death Eaters. Which I'm here to help with. So if you could shift back and shut the door, that'll be great."

There's a part of him that wants to use his persuasion to get the other man to shift back, but he doesn't. There's no reason to add that to his list of things he's definitely done wrong already. In hindsight, he definitely should've approached him somewhere else.

There's several long, silent moments before the blond stands in front of him. "You have five minutes to talk before I decide to kill you or not."

So Charlie talks. That is one thing he's good at, the reason Amelia likes to send him out on recruitment ops. He talks about the Death Eater's surveillance on Draco and how the Order figured it. He talks about the machine that Voldemort is trying to recruit Draco to make. He also talks about how his shapeshifting ability will be useful to Voldemort.

The blond listens the entire time. Charlie can see that he has questions but the blond holds his tongue, which Charlie likes.

"So you want me to believe your word that the Death Eaters are trying to recruit me, when you broke into my hotel room?" he says flatly, exhaustion clear in his voice.

He huffs out a laugh and rubs the back of his neck. "I didn't think this all the way through," he admits.

A few long seconds later, Draco laughs. Charlie watches him carefully, ready to move in an instant just in case. However, the blond digs through one of his bags and produces a paper and pencil. He jots down something and hands it to the redhead.

"I'll meet you there, tomorrow, at half three, so you can give me proof. Now, get out of my hotel room so I can get some sleep." As Charlie heads to the door, Draco calls out, "Oh, before I forget, name?"

He turns around and gives the blond a grin. "Charlie Weasley."

Then he disappears, leaving Draco to sleep.

* * *

Just before half three, Charlie slips into the restaurant. It's not crowded, but it's not empty either, which he's grateful for. Either of those would make this conversation harder to have.

Draco sits at a booth, reading the newspaper as Charlie takes the seat opposite. The blond looks up at him and then folds the newspaper. "So I remember asking for proof."

He hands the blond the surveillance photos that the Order has of the person following Draco. "Scabior," Charlie says. "He's known to be very persuasive. There hasn't been a person we've been able to find that hasn't joined the Death Eaters or been found dead."

The other man shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "Is there anything else?"

Charlie gives him a folder and then an mp3 with headphones. "We have one of ours on the inside. They've heard your name thrown around. The leader's very interested in you."

"Seems like the Order is too," Draco notes, flipping through the transcripts in the folder.

"Hard not to be," he replies. He only recognizes the implications of his statement when the blond raises his eyebrow at him.

Draco closes the folder. "What do they want with my ability?"

Charlie shrugs. "Power or maybe intimidation, though your dragonskin is more breathtaking than terrifying."

"I'm assuming the Order wants me to become a part of their agency. What will that entail?"

"The director didn't specify. When I joined, I was stuck at desk duty for a while. Until I completed enough training to go into the field. Though, I suspect it will be more engineering based for you. I looked into some of the things you've worked on and damn," he answers.

The shifter snorts. "Fieldwork?"

"I typically get sent out to recruit. I've been told I have excellent persuasion skills," he replies.

"I wouldn't go that far," the man says, his lips fighting a smile.

Charlie gives him an unimpressed look. "I got you to hear me out."

Draco's eyes flicker up and down what he can see of Charlie's body. "Something like that, at least. So what happens if I say no?"

"We keep an eye on you just to make sure the Death Eaters don't try to recruit you."

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" the blond retorts. He doesn't wait for Charlie's reply. "If I agree?"

The redhead flashes him a toothy grin. "I take you to our headquarters for debriefing. So what do you say?"

The blond rubs at his eyes. "Heaven save me; yes, I'll go."

* * *

Charlie manages to take Marlene down, hard enough that she loses her breath. While she gasps for breath, he uses his weight to keep her down. He traps her tail with his wing.

"Mercy?" he asks.

She snorts and tries to maneuver herself out of his hold. Quickly, she realizes that it isn't going to happen. "Mercy," she concedes.

He gets to his feet and offers her his hand.

"I told you that I'd teach you hand-to-hand, even if it killed me," she says, grinning victoriously.

He snorts. "I suppose you did. But it took you six months."

"Six months is better than you relying on luck to survive," she retorts. She pulls her hair tie out of her hair and puts it back up neater than it was. "Have you managed to stop making a fool of yourself in front of the shifter?"

Charlie groans as he walks towards the door. "What has Tonks told you now?"

Marlene's laughter sounds behind him. Charlie turns to glare at her and he opens the door with his wings. She comes up beside him, "Nothing she hasn't said before. That it's sickening watching the two of you. It's clear the two of you deserve each other with how much pining you two do."

"I don't pine!" he exclaims.

"Except when it comes to Draco Malfoy," she sing-songs.

As if it was fate, Charlie nearly walks into the blond man. He's frowning as he looks between Charlie and Marlene.

"I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. I'm sure I can sucker Remus into a fight. Don't spend all day snogging! There's actual work to be done," she calls, turning the corner of the hallway.

"You told her we were dating?" he demands.

Charlie shakes his head quickly. "No. Definitely not. I'm pretty sure that was her way of saying she's sick of me 'pining'."

"Pining for me?"

Charlie's heart races. He supposes there's no time like the present. "Yes," he says firmly. "We can talk about it over dinner if you'd like."

Draco laughs. "Just as long as you don't go breaking into my room, dinner sounds good."

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" he asks. When the blond shakes his head, Charlie sighs. "I suppose it will be the price I pay for a date."

* * *

Meet cute: hotel room

Character appreciation: (Trait) Loyal

Book club: Randall Flagg - (word) dark, (au) demon, (ability) shapeshifting

Showtime: Dancing Through Life - (dialogue) "It's clear we deserve each other."

Buttons: (character) Amelia Bones

Tv: Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan - (item) book, (action) partaking in some self-defense, (character) Marlene McKinnon

Liza's loves: Goldeneye - Write a spy AU

Scavenger: Write about someone exercising

Library: Hunger Games - (relationship) Mentor, (word) Fire, (plot point) Fighting to survive

Serpents: Burrowing cobra - (AU) Spy

Cards: Oh Hell - (dialogue) "Oh hell…"

Fairytale: Pretending to be someone/something you're not, Song: "I'll make a man out of you." - (bonus 5 points), Word: Honour, Animal: Dragon, Falling in love

365: 36. AU - Spy!AU

Insane: 235. AU - Angels and Demons

Writing month: 2059


	21. Online dating site

He squeezes the slime in his hand for stress relief as he clicks on message button of the dating site. He was annoyed when his sister had set him up an account on _Plenty of Fish_ , but he gets it; their mother worries that he's lonely. His mother doesn't understand he's happy being single.

Just because she doesn't believe him doesn't mean he can't have some fun. He only logs into the account when he needs a good laugh.

Like today. He found a hive full of bees dead, and he could definitely use some cheering up. There's four messages in his inbox, three of them from people he's talked to before. The fourth is a new person— _DrakeTheGreat_.

He snorts at the name. It's one of the least imaginative names. The message is much better.

" _Are you a Pokemon? Because you're on fire_."

He laughs at that. It's much better than the messages who are asking about the rubber duck he's leaning against in his profile picture. (His sister laughed until she cried when he changed it.) He enjoys that this person went for a message about his username instead; his sister had chosen Charmander for his username, which he found both brilliant and hilarious.

He quickly types back, " _Is that the best you've got_?"

The reply is almost instantaneous. " _You think you can do bette_ r?"

That's really all it takes because he never steps down from a challenge. " _Do you want to ride on my magic carpet? Because I can show you a whole new world_."

While he waits for the response, he glances through _DrakeTheGreat's_ profile. There's a picture of a gorgeous blond. Which means there's a high chance that the man in the picture isn't who he's talking to, but that doesn't matter. At least he can have a bit of fun.

" _Are you a star? Because you are out of this world_."

This has to be one of the best conversations he's had with a person on this site. He grins as he types, " _Are you a wizard? Because I think you cast a spell on me_."

" _Are you a genie lamp? Because I'd like to rub you til stuff comes out_."

He laughs brightly at that. " _Subtly is not your strong point, is it_?"

" _We're on a dating site. Was I supposed to be subtle_?"

" _No, I suppose not. Maybe I can be convinced to show you later why everyone is so pleased with me in the sheets_."

" _Now, who's lacking subtlety? Besides, you just sound over confident with your skills_."

The redhead laughs. " _Do you really think that I would falsify my work? Shame, I conducted a very thorough experiment too_."

" _Well, I suppose you'll just have to show me then. After all, seeing is believing_."

" _I'm sure that I can sway you_."

The next step is clearly to meet in person, so he offers a coffeehouse a few streets over. He's not looking forward to telling his sister he found someone.

* * *

Meet cute: online dating site

Character appreciation: (object) rubber duck

Days: Singles Awareness Day - Write about someone who is happily single

Tv: Dr. Jack Hodgins: (AU) entomologist, (dialogue) "Do you really think that I would falsify my work?", (item) slime

Serpents: Hook nosed sea snake- (dialogue) "Subtlety is not your strong point, is it?"

Lent: No mention of character names.

Fairytale: Aladdin - Creature: Genie, Item: Magic Carpet, Word: Street

Insane: 938. Restriction - No character names

365: 30. AU - Online Dating!AU

Writing month wc: 501


	22. Job

As Charlie swims up to the Law Office of Malfoy and Zabini, he wonders if answering the ad for Draco Malfoy's personal assistant is a terrible idea. He'd heard rumors about what happened to the merman's previous assistant; the poor girl had looked terrified as she swam out of the office with her clam phone and messy hair.

But he really doesn't have an option since he really needs a job. He's as prepared as he's going to get for the interview so he opens the door. First thing he hears is raised voices. He can't make out what's being said, but judging by the tone, it's nothing good. He swishes his tail nervously. The mermaid at the front desk looks unconcerned about the argument.

"You're the one that applied for the assistant job for Mr Malfoy?" she asks.

He nods. Suddenly one of the doors down the hallway slams open, creating a wave. He recognizes the mermaid as Bellatrix Lestrange. She looks wild. He guesses that the year since her banishment hasn't been kind to her. Clearly, she didn't get whatever she came for. But he wants to know what she could want.

"Goodbye, Aunt Bella," a voice says firmly.

Charlie's attention shifts to the other merman. He forgets how to breathe for a moment. The other merman is gorgeous, with blue-green scales and blond hair.

"You'll regret this, Draco," the mermaid declares haughtily. Then she swims out of the building, leaving silence behind her

After a few moments, the mermaid at the front desk announces, "Your nine o'clock interview is here."

Draco flickers his eyes up and down Charlie, assessing him. Apparently, Charlie passes whatever he's looking for because he commands, "Come on back."

The redhead swims into Draco's office. His office is neat and orderly, from the books on his table to the seaweed paper on his desk. The only thing that's out of place is a parcel sitting on top of the seaweed paper. Draco doesn't attempt to move it. He just stays behind his desk, asking Charlie about his qualifications and work history.

Charlie answers them as coherently as he can, even though he feels a little tongue-tied. His answers must be good because the blond nods and asks, "When can you start?"

"Now, if you want," he answers.

"Good. Daphne can show you what you'll need to know," the blond says. As Charlie goes to swim out of the room, Draco stops him with, "Before you start, call someone to take this away." He's gesturing towards the parcel on his desk.

Charlie parcel looks harmless but the other merman is clearly wary of it. Could his aunt be willing to harm him? He swims out of the room to call the police. After they are called, Daphne starts to explain what Charlie will be expected to do. It's honestly not as bad as he would've thought it to be. But then again, it's only the first day.

* * *

Meet cute: personal assistance

Showtime: No One Mourns the Wicked - (dialogue) "Take it away."

Library: My Sister's Keeper - (occupation) Lawyer, (plot point) Family argument, (plot point) Acceptance

Serpents: Desert death adder - (character) Bellatrix Lestrange

Lent: No canon locations (so nowhere mentioned in the books.)

Fairytale: AU: Mermaid, Word: Scales, Restriction: Set entire story underwater

Insane: 525. Action - Arguing

365: 171. Job - Lawyer

Writing wc: 495


	23. Apocalypse

Hogwarts has always been Charlie's home. He's never known another, even though he dreams to see the the surface above—to bask in the warm sunshine, to feel the grass beneath his feet, and to smell the roses his brother, Percy, has read about. But the surface has been too dangerous since the war.

There hasn't been a person out of Hogwarts in nearly 100 years, but Charlie dreams of being the first. The sound of footsteps growing closer breaks Charlie out of his thoughts.

"Can't sleep either?" Daphne asks rhetorically, as she sits next to him. Together, they peer into the greenhouse room, where artificial light helps grow their crops.

Charlie likes to watch when his insomnia hits him hard. He tears his eyes away to look at the brunette. She looks exhausted as he feels, but sleep won't come for either of them.

"How's Astoria?"

He watches the way she inhales sharply at the mention of her younger sister. Astoria has been in and out of the Infirmary since she was a child, and Daphne stresses each time; more so now that their parents have passed away.

"The doctors say one more transfusion and she'll be ready to come back to our flat," she answers, her voice soft.

He nods. "That's good."

Daphne sighs. "I suppose. I don't know what keeps making her sick. I don't have a long term fix for her, but I wish I did."

"I know," he whispers softly. Then he turns back to the garden. He's exhausted all the means of comforting her long ago, and she prefers silence to empty promises.

"Do you ever wish there was a way to go back in time and fix everything?" she asks, breaking the silence that's fallen between them. When he turns to look at her, her green eyes are wide and earnest. "To stop the war that keeps us in this bunker?"

He snorts. "If only that was a possibility."

"There's been whispers about the Unspeakables creating a time machine in the forbidden rooms," she tells him quickly.

"You want to break into the forbidden rooms on the off chance that they are finished with a machine that may or may not actually work?" he asks.

She gives him a look that clearly means that she's not believing his hesitancy. "You've always wanted to see what it was like before. Just think, we could go back and change everything."

She makes it so appealing that it doesn't take him long at all to agree; he can't help but blame the fact that he babysat her for years before she stumbled upon his sitting place for sleepless nights and the two of them became friends, despite their age difference.

The lights glow brighter with the impending day time. They sit just outside of the greenhouse and plot how to get into the forbidden room.

* * *

It takes weeks for them to get ready. They had to observe the Unspeakables', the guards', and the key keeper's schedules to make sure they get in without raising any alarms.

But finally, Daphne makes a mould of the key while Charlie keeps the key keeper entertained. They make their own key later that night. All that leaves is getting into the forbidden rooms.

It's easier than either of them would've imagined. They are looking at the machine when they hear a voice behind them. Charlie turns around to face the person.

Professor Dumbledore stands behind them. He looks passively at the two; neither angry or surprised. "I see tonight was the night you two decided to break in," he says conversationally.

"You knew?" Daphne demands.

"I know everything that goes on around Hogwarts, even those that people do not wish others to know," Dumbledore answers evenly.

Charlie frowns. His parents had told him time and again that the Professor works in eccentric ways. He is the oldest person at Hogwarts, probably the only person who remembers what it was like to live on the surface.

"Are you going to stop us?" Charlie asks hesitantly.

"You, no," the Professor says. "Ms Greengrass, however, I will. You are under the age of 18, therefore I cannot let you go. Mr Weasley, while I hope you change your mind, you are an adult and I have no right to stop you from testing out the machine since you are more than willing."

Charlie turns to Daphne. There's angry tears welling in her eyes. "Don't cry, Daphne," he whispers. "Besides, you're all Astoria has left. She needs you."

She rubs at her eyes. "I know. I know. I just—"

He pulls her into a hug. He's realizing the flaw in their plan. There's absolutely no guaranteeing that it works and that he'll be able to come back. He could very well die trying to see the surface. But anything is worth the risk if they can live on the surface again.

"If you need anything, all you have to do is ask my family," he murmurs against her hair. He takes a deep breathe in. "If anything happens and I don't make it back, tell my family I'm sorry."

She draws back quickly. She's so close to crying. "You better come back, you hear me? You gotta come back," she tells him thickly.

"I will try," he assures her. "Keep an eye out. I'll find a way to send you a message."

She nods at him, scrubbing at her face.

He looks to Dumbledore who gives him a slight nod. Charlie turns to face the machine. The portal is a shimmering blue. He only hesitates for moment before he goes through.

* * *

Charlie falls for minutes or hours, he doesn't know, before he lands on a concrete floor. After a quick glance around, he finds it looks exactly the same as Hogwarts. He makes his way to the Great Hall.

As he walks, he notices that there aren't any people. Hogwarts houses several hundred people and there's no one around. His stomach feels like it's sinking.

He rushes towards the Great Hall, eager to figure out whether he was successful in travelling back. There's two men staying in the middle of the empty Great Hall. There's no tables or chairs or decorations around.

One of the men notices Charlie and yells out, "What are you doing here? This isn't open to the public."

It causes the other man to look at Charlie. He's tall, with blond hair, and Charlie heart rate picks up.

"Who are you?" he demands.

Charlie rubs the back of his neck. "Would you believe me if I said I'm from the future?"

The first man turns red with anger. He's clearly about to scream at Charlie, probably for playing a joke, when the blond puts his arm in front of the other man.

"You can go, Blaise. I've got this covered," he says.

Blaise looks at the blond for a long moment before he angrily disappears through doors Charlie's never seen opened before. The blond makes his way closer to Charlie, his eyebrows furrowed. He studies Charlie closely, which makes him shift foot to foot.

"What's your name?"

Charlie indulges the man without hesitancy.

"The future you say. How does this war end?"

"With most major cities being taken out with nuclear bombs which causes widespread radiation. Most of the population died. My great-grandparents sought protection here," he answers, gesturing around. "The surface still isn't safe."

The blond nods, frowning.

"Out of curiosity," Charlie starts, "what is your name?"

"Malfoy," he immediately responds. "Draco Malfoy."

"The engineer of Hogwarts. That Draco Malfoy?" he questions.

Draco nods. "The wars been heading in a terrible directions. I figured nuclear war wasn't too far off, so I started building Hogwarts. We're nearly done."

"What's the date?"

Draco recites it easily. It makes Charlie frown. "There's only a few weeks until the war becomes nuclear."

There's an unease upon Draco's face. "I'll have everyone work overtime, then. Is that the only reason you came?"

Charlie shakes his head. "I was hoping to change the course of events. Stopping this war from becoming nuclear. I want to be able to walk the surface."

"There's no stopping the war from turning ugly. Definitely not the word of a person claiming to be from the future," the other man says.

He knows this. It was a long shot at best. But that's not the only reason he's here. "We've read about roses. Professor Dumbledore said that they grew near here."

"Albus Dumbledore is still alive? He must be a hundred or more by now, right?"

Charlie shrugs. "He doesn't really talk about it. He rarely indulges anyone with stories of how it was before."

After a few moments, the blond turns on his feet. "Come on, there's a rose bush not to far from the entrance. I'll show you."

Without hesitation, Charlie follows Draco through doors he's never been beyond. His heart races with anticipation. He's finally going to do what he's dreamed of doing all his life—stand on the surface.

The harshness of the sunlight hurts Charlie's eyes as they make their way up. It's much brighter than any light within Hogwarts. It takes him several long moments to see anything.

Before he gets out of the bunker, he slips out of his shoes to feel the grass beneath his feet. Draco gives him an odd look but doesn't say anything.

The blond points towards the rose bush. Charlie can't make out any details of it. But it doesn't matter. Charlie takes his first step on the surface. The grass tickles the his feet.

Then he takes a second one. He's near the bush that Draco pointed out when pain explodes through his body. He collapses.

He opens his eyes to see red behind Draco. He's leaning over Charlie, assessing him for a moment before pulling him back inside the bunker. He's heavier than the lithe man so it takes him a few minutes to get him back under the protection of Hogwarts. The pain doesn't fade. He feels like he's dying.

"I—rose, please," he gasps out. He doesn't want to die without seeing one of the things he wants.

Draco doesn't move for a long moment. Then he turns around and disappears from sight. When he comes back, he's holding a single red rose. He lays it next to Charlie.

"You've never encountered sunlight before?" he asks.

The pain hasn't disappeared. Charlie barely holds onto his consciousness. "Never," he says tightly.

"Fuck," Draco swears. "The gene that helps with sun exposure must've disappeared over time. I should've considered that possibility."

It's too late, they both know it. His entire body hurts. Charlie gaps the rose. He looks at the blond. "Can you do me three things?"

Draco listens as Charlie asks him to preserve the red rose and where to place it. He wants Daphne to see it as proof that what he saw of the surface was beautiful. The blond takes the request in stride, never asking why.

Charlie's not a coward. There's one thing he wants that going outside won't give him. So for his next request, he asks, "Will you kiss me?"

The other man looks at him with an eyebrow raised.

That doesn't deter Charlie. "I just—maybe if we were born in the same time period, we could've been something. I just want to know what it's like to kiss you."

Draco leans down gently presses his lips to Charlie's. It's feather light, and it soothes Charlie's pain.

"The last request?"

"Help me back outside. I doubt there's anything that can be done to help. I would rather die on the surface than to die in Hogwarts," he says softly. The pain is getting more manageable, but it's still constant.

There seems to be a complaint on Draco's tongue but he bites it back. He gives Charlie a second kiss. "Maybe we could have," he whispers.

Draco then drags Charlie back into the sunlight, to his impending death. Charlie gasps with pain. It's not a quick death, but he dies having done everything he ever wanted. Draco murmurs comforting words to him as his death approaches.

He has the sun shining above him, the grass beneath his body, a red rose in his hand, with a gorgeous blond sitting next to him. There are worse ways to die, Charlie thinks.

* * *

Meet cute: apocalypse

Disney: Magical wishes - Write about someone's dreams coming true, and it not being what they wanted.

Showtime: Dear Old Shiz - (setting) Hogwarts

Restriction: (Location) Hogwarts

Liza's Loves: Apocalypse Now - Write an Apocalypse AU - (5 bonus points)

Serpents: Puff adder - (AU) Time Travel

Cards: Concentration - write about someone preparing for something important

Lent: Ash Wednesday - Write about symbols. Alt. Write about a character realising their mortality.

Library Lover: Alice in Wonderland - (action) Falling, "Who are you?", (item) Roses

Fairytale: Sleeping Beauty - Object: A red rose, Word: Insomnia, Character: Daphne Greengrass

Insane: 908. Trope - Time travel

365: 16. AU - Apocalypse!AU

Writing month wc: 2057


	24. Phone number

Charlie wakes up groaning. His head is pounding, and feeling like he's going to puke. He carefully gropes around his bedside table until his hand makes contact with the glass of water he placed there yesterday afternoon, long before his birthday party. He hasn't been that drunk in a long while and he completely blames Tonks.

He takes a sip of water and hazardly turns on his lamp. The light hurts his eyes until they adjust. There are several balloons floating around his bedroom, their ribbon touch the ground from the lack of helium. Several of them say Happy 50th Birthday because Tonks thinks she's hilarious.

He sits up to head to the bathroom when he notices himself. There are at least a dozen stickers on his t-shirt, his trousers are missing, and Charlie remember approximately nothing about the night before after the seventh shot. He hasn't been this sloshed since he was in college.

He remember Tonks getting them into the best nightclub London has to offer, the one that seem to sport her face changing masks. Then she proceeded to buy round after round of the good stuff. The dance floor spun under his feet, the people's faces and masks blurred together, and Charlie felt amazing. But there is nothing after the seventh shot.

He goes to rub his eyes with his left arm and notices a number scribbled against his forearm with, "call me," written under it. He groans. He doesn't have enough coffee to deal with….well, he's not sure, but he knows it's probably not good.

He prepares himself for standing and it still doesn't change the nausea he feels upon doing so. Realizing that he definitely was going to puke, he rushes to the toilet before emptying the contents of his stomach, which isn't much.

As he's brushing his teeth, he curses his best friend. He hasn't been like this since uni. Upon noticing the glitter all over his hair, he groans; that shit doesn't come out. Ever. He puts his toothbrush back and heads to the kitchen to make coffee.

After he's drain a mug full of coffee and paracetamol, he pours a second one and searches for his phone. He calls Tonks first. "Any particular reason why I'm sporting stickers, glitter, and a phone number?"

She cackles for a long moment. Charlie places the phone on the counter and makes himself toast. When he picks it back up, Tonks has finally calmed down. "You don't remember?"

"Do you really think I'd be calling you with questions if I remember last night?" he counters.

"Just call the number. Oh, and I didn't provide the glitter," she says. Then she hangs up.

Charlie starts at the screen, wondering what he ever did to deserve Tonks as a friend. He munches on his toast before he decides to call the number.

It's a little smudged, but somehow is still legible. His heart races as the phone rings. The man on the other end of the phone has a perfect voice as he says, "Hello."

Charlie rubs the back of his neck as he introduces himself. "We met last night. You wrote your number on my arm."

"Oh yes, Charlie, was it? We need to talk about last night," the man says.

His heart feels like it wants to come out of his chest. "I—uh, so I don't really remember last night," he admits.

There's a moment where Charlie can hear the man whispering to someone else. Then it shifts back. "You'll find that you're not going to have to remember what happened to suffer the consequences."

"That sounds ominous," Charlie says, snorting.

"When you say you don't remember the evening, after what point do you not remember?" the man inquires.

"Getting to Metamorphmagus, about six or seven shots in?"

The man sighs softly; it's almost too soft to hear. "My cousin did say you were pretty drunk when I left my number."

Charlie bites his bottom lip as he tries to figure out exactly who the other man was. He only went with Tonks, and he doesn't remember her talking about a cousin.

Then, with sudden clarity, he realizes who he's talking to. Fuck, he doesn't know protocol to talk to a Prince. "What did I do?"

"Well, you managed to kiss me just in time for the paparazzi to take a picture," the Prince responds drily. "The story ran first thing this morning."

"Fuck," he says. "I'm sorry. Shit. I'd be more than happy to give the paparazzi a statement saying that it was a one time thing and completely my fault, since I assume I'm the one that started the kiss."

There's a snort on the other end of the line. "That would be tragic, given you're actually not a bad kisser. Besides, I'm sure that everyone would be unsurprised you couldn't resist me," he says confidently.

Charlie laughs at that. "A bit full of yourself?"

"I am the Prince," he says smugly.

He can perfectly imagine Prince Draco's smug smile, one the he wears when the horse he bid on wins, and, holy shit. He's always thought the Prince was gorgeous, if a bit young to even consider. He can't believe he kissed the Prince while drunk last night; there must've been an enchantress involved somehow. It was probably Tonks fault.

"What do you want me to do about the press?" he asks, swallowing thickly. He knows the media will go wild over their pictured kiss. Prince Draco has never said that he was bi, so it's going to be a shitstorm.

There's a pause. "I would like to take you on a date. I want to see if there's a chance this could be something before I dismiss it."

Charlie's brain short circuits. That is definitely not where he was thinking this conversation was going. "I—uh, wasn't—"

"It's perfectly acceptable to say no. This wouldn't ever be normal, and probably would never be easy, especially for someone who isn't used to this kind of stuff," Prince Dreaco rambles. It's clear he's nervous.

Charlie clears his throat. "I wasn't saying no. I was surprised that this turned into you asking me on a date after probably creating a media nightmare for your family. If I like you, I like you and not your title. Which, for the record, I do like you."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes," he replies. Holy shit. He just agreed to a date. With the Prince.

"Good. I'll have to have a look at my calendar to see when I'm free, but I can call or text you as soon as I check," Prince Draco says hesitantly.

Charlie grins. He might just have to get Tonks a really expensive gift for this. "Texts are perfect."

He's debating whether or not to say goodbye and hang up when the other man speaks again. He sounds unsure as he asks, "Would it be terrible if I requested we both wear my cousin's masks?"

"No," he assures him. He's a bit relieved to hear the Prince ask. "Personally, I would rather figure out if this becomes serious or anything without the paparazzi breathing down our necks, as I'm sure you are."

The sigh of relief is audible. "I'll text you at some point today."

"I'll leave you to get whatever it is that you do done. Goodbye, your highness."

"Draco," he corrects. "We've already kissed. I'm sure that means you don't have to use titles with me."

"Well then, Draco, I'll await your text," he says.

The Prince says his goodbye and hang up. Charlie stares at his phone for a long moment. Then he pinches himself because there's no way this isn't a dream. He's surprised when it hurts.

He calls Tonks back. "I don't know how you pulled this off."

"And you never will," she sing-songs. "Besides, I was always hear how much you liked my cousin, and none of them were for his title."

He wants to hate her, but he knows she's right. Since Draco was crowned Prince a year ago, Charlie's seen the type of things he's interested in. Well, it only made the gorgeous Prince more attractive to him and Tonks is really the only one that he moans to about Draco.

"Thank you."

* * *

Meet cute: phone number

Character Appreciation: (Trait) Accepting of those that are different than him

Showtime: Wonderful - (object) Balloons

Buttons: (object) Toothbrush

Liza's Loves: Royal Arrival - Write a royal!AU

Scavenger: Write about someone decorating something with stickers

Library: A Series of Unfortunate Events - (word) Tragic, (action) Biting, (object) Ribbon

Serpents: Hoop snake - (object) mug

Cards: Five Crowns - Royalty!AU

Fairytale: Beauty and the Beast - Trait: Arrogant, Word: Enchantress, AU: Inventor

Insane: 488. Item - Lamp

365: 33. AU - Royalty!AU

Writing month wc: 1376


	25. Concert

It isn't supposed to be like this, he thinks later, after the pain of his wings being torn from his body fades and he has a chance to reflect. Really, he never considered he'd lose his wings, never considered he'd disobey an order to begin with.

He loves love—the idea of it, of giving the humans the final push to find their soulmate,of seeing the happiness it brought. He's content to spread love, but there's always a small part of him that wishes it for himself. Cupids help bring people destined to fall in love together but never have love for themselves.

He thought he was content with that until he sees a man who takes his breath away the moment he touches him. He's given the nudge to countless people, and never has he ever come across someone quite like this man. Draco Malfoy, his brain supplies, soulmate: Astoria Greengrass, one son: Scor— He quickly diverts the integrated knowledge of the this man's life.

For the first time, he doesn't want to know how Draco's life will play out like every other person he helps. Surely that's not the only course Draco's life could take. There has to be times when Cupids don't get it right; where the love destroys instead of completes humans.

This blond man has changed him. He questions everything he's never considered before. He wants to know why, if love is such a beautiful and life changing emotion, the Cupids are never allowed to experience it. He wants to be selfish; he wants to know what love feels like, specifically how it feels to love and be loved by Draco.

He purposefully leaves Draco and Astoria alone that day, the day that was meant to be the start of their love story. And the day after that. And the day after that one. He puts it off as long as he can while he spends his free time learning everything about Draco as he can.

He didn't exactly think about what would happen to him once an Angel of Destiny realized he was changing destiny itself. All he could think of is grey eyes and a smirk. He never considered the consequences.

When the Angel of Destiny tears his wings from his body, he thinks he's never felt anything as agonising as losing his wings. He gasps as the pain rushes through his body. The scene changes from the clouds of heaven that he's called his home since he was created to a street on Earth. Without his wings, he feels so off balance that he stumbles to keep standing.

The Angel of Destiny leaves him on the unfamiliar street, without his wings. He finds that, as a stranger keeps him from collapsing to the ground, his Cupid abilities are still in tact. Nymphadora Tonks, soulmate: Remus Lupin, one son: Edward Lupin, yet to meet Remus, his mind supplies.

Nymphadora gasps as she steadies him. "Easy there." He meets her dark eyes. "Are you okay?"

He doesn't know how to answer. Obviously, he can't tell her the truth, even if he thought she wouldn't believe him. "I—can't. I need—"

"Easy there, mate," she says, pulling both of her hands away from their place on his shoulders slowly and carefully. "I'm going to call 999. You look hurt."

He panics. He knows enough about humans to know that getting help would be a really, really bad idea. There is no way that he could explain not having any identification. "No! I'm fine. No need. Fine. Just need to get...somewhere. I'm fine. Really."

Nymphadora doesn't look like she believes it. "Okay. I won't call them. But I just can't leave you here. Why don't you join me back at my flat? I've got stuff that can help you."

He hesitates. He knows nothing about her beyond her soulmate and destiny. Without his wings and without his immortality, she could easily kill him. But he's convinced that he'll never make it as a mortal without a little help, so he nods.

"Good, good. I'm Tonks," she introduces as she leads him to stand next to her.

"Uh—" he says. Humans are big on introduction, he remembers. But he's never had a name; he has only ever been a Cupid. He thinks through names of males he'd helped in the past. "I'm Charlie," he says, hoping she didn't notice his hesitation.

"Well, Charlie, my flat is just a little further up the road," she tells him.

* * *

He doesn't keep track of the days he spends at Tonks' flat. Somehow, he's not sure, one night turned into two, which turned into more. He's not sure how to be human, but he's trying to figure out how while Tonks is at work.

He watches the telly Tonks showed him how to work, until he is sure that he can pass as a human. He pretends that he isn't unraveling her destiny each time they accidentally touch each other.

Until she comes home, ranting one day. "Ugh, I hate guard duty!" she moans. "While the Weird Sisters are really good, I hate—"

"Wait," he says, cutting her off. "Weird Sisters?"

"You know the Weird Sisters?" she asks sceptically.

He shakes his head, sudden hope uncontrollably rising in his chest. "I know someone who is planning to go to that concert," he explains.

Tonks faces softens in a way he's never seen before. He's not sure what she sees on his face, but she says, "I'll get my hands on a ticket for you, since I doubt you magically have one."

* * *

He dresses in clean clothes that appeared. He heads out of the room that Tonks has been allowing him to stay in just as she calls for him.

She hands him a ticket. He doesn't ask how she got it; he's just glad that she did. "I just wanted to say thank you. You've been the biggest help."

"Keep that sappiness away from me," she teases.

He feels a grin grow on his face. It was honestly so lucky that the Angel of Destiny left him where they did; he supposes that they knew Tonks would help.

Together they walk towards where the concert would be held, him in his magically appearing clothes and her in an outfit that differs significantly that most people around them. She leaves him in line with a grin and a promise to meet him after just outside the venue after.

He shifts from foot to foot, nervous. There is no telling if the concert Draco was planning on going to is this concert or a different one. He just yearns to see the blond man one more time. If his path can cross with Draco's, there's a chance that he can change destiny for real this time.

He's almost to the tent set up when he hears Draco's voice. It's unmistakable. He quickly shoves the ticket towards the guard. When he's cleared, he steps into the tent. It's much bigger on the inside. He resists the urge to double check the size outside in favor of trying to spot Draco.

A feeling of utter peace washes over him, something that hasn't happened since he sat on a cloud in heaven. He makes his way towards the blond. The man looks somehow more beautiful when he sees Draco through mortal eyes.

He brushes his hand against the blond as he pretends to walk around him. Met Astoria, his brain tells him. Marriage in two years.

Everything in him breaks. He thought losing his wings was agonising; it has nothing on how it feels to know that another Cupid did what he couldn't do—what he wouldn't do.

He doesn't know how long he stand there, trying to piece himself back together. He's startled out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. Met Remus, he knows. Pregnancy in a year.

He turns to look at Tonks. The frustration slides off her face almost instantly. "Come on, let's go home."

He doesn't protest as she leads him away. He's so out of it that he doesn't remember the trip back to Tonks' flat. She just guides him to the couch, wraps a blanket around his shoulder, and makes him a cuppa.

"So I'm a witch," she says, sitting next to him.

He turns to her confused.

Expecting this, she summons a second cuppa into her hand. "The venue for the concert? Did you notice it looked smaller than it was?" When he nods, she continues. "Since witches were persecuted, we don't generally tell normal people."

"Why are you telling me?"

She chuckles. "You know something very private about me. I would like it if you would talk to me about whatever happened tonight."

He's quiet for a long while. "What is love?"

"It's not something that can be easily described," she says. "Why?"

It's like a dam breaking. He talks about his creation, about how he was a Cupid, about how he brought people together. It all comes tumbling out. Tonks doesn't react to it. She listens to him quietly. He's not sure why she believes him; maybe it's because she has magic. It doesn't matter because he can't stop talking about everything.

He tells her about Draco. He talks about how he didn't know why, but he couldn't bring himself to set destiny into motion. He explains the meeting with the Angel of Destiny, and how his wings were ripped away, but not his ability to know a person's life by touch. He tells her about choosing the name Charlie and how he doesn't know what he would've done without her.

Then comes the worst part: he tells her about his fingers brushing against Draco's skin and what he learned.

"Someone else did what I wouldn't," he whispers hoarsely. "I just knew. I had kept going because I may have lost my wings, but I thought that maybe, just maybe I could change destiny. But they wanted me to know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that I was foolish to think I could."

She gives him the saddest look he's ever seen grace her face. "They should have never done that to you. That's a cruel and uncalled for thing to do," she growls, growing angrier with each word. "To dangle love in front of you and then snatch it away like that."

He swallows thickly. "I wanted him. I don't know why, but it felt like he was everything I was ever curious about. I should've known better."

"Then we change destiny," she declares.

He huffs a laugh. "If anything, this has only showed me that destiny will never be changed."

"You said two years, right? That the wedding would in two years," she says. When he nods, a smile grows on her face. "Then we have two years figure out how to change destiny."

"I can't ask for more than what you've already done," he whispers. "But thank you for offering."

She shakes her head. "That wasn't a suggestion. That was me telling you that we are going to figure out how to change destiny. Because you don't deserve to taste love and have it cruelly snatched away."

He meets her determined eyes as he realizes there's no changing her mind. Maybe the Angel of Destiny saw this coming. He wonders why the Angel would do that if they knew. He has two years to figure it. He gives a silence thanks to anyone listening. This experience has done nothing but humbled him and made him thankful for the woman in front of him.

Maybe they could change destiny after all.

* * *

Meet cute: Characters meet while waiting in line for the concert

Character Appreciation: (Setting) A magical tent

Disney: Prince Ali - Write about someone pretending to be something they're not

Showtime: For Good - (genre) Friendship

Buttons: (au) Cupid

Restriction: extra prompt - Beautiful by Christina Aguilera [It's hard to breathe/ Now and then I get insecure/ From all the pain/ I'm so ashamed]

Liza's Loves: Royal Duchess - Write an arranged marriage!AU

Library: Fallen - Write about a fallen angel, soulmate!AU, (word) Shadow

Serpents: King cobra - (word) humble

Lent: Write about someone being exiled or exiling themselves

Insane: 209. AU - Soulmate

365: 133. First Line - "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

Writing month wc: 1938


	26. Train

It's a dark and stormy night and Draco is finally heading home from Paris. He had been sent abroad to handle a situation that was getting out of hand. Really, how they could fuck up a simple protection detail is beyond him. Things had got a bit sticky when the police got involved and it took more money than Draco cares to admit to get the police to back off. He's not looking forward to telling his boss the amount this fuck up costed.

He sits down in an empty compartment, sighing contently when the compartment is empty. He's ready for his own bed. His eyes are closed, trying to relax, when he feel a pair of eyes on him. His eyes snap open to see a redhead taking a seat. The redhead is gorgeous, tanned with freckles covering all the visible skin, and muscles that causes Draco to swallow. The other man looks exhausted as he slumps into the seat at the other end of the compartment.

Draco's never been particularly fond of being stuck with people, even if the other person is gorgeous. He decides to just ignore the stranger for the remainder of the trip to England. The other man seems content to ignore him as well in favor of doing something on his phone.

He pulls out a book to read, to keep his mind off what awaits him when he gets home. He's a few pages in when he sees something out the corner of his eyes. His survive instincts kick in. He glances up as he reaches for the gun he has expertly hidden. Cuthbert Binns, a professor at Hogwarts University, stands in front of him.

Draco's heart races as he blinks rapidly. This is physically impossible. Binns had first received a snake bite to paralyse him before the snake ate him whole. This is what his boss favors for killing; less messy and no body to hide, which in hindsight, is clever. Which means that it is completely and utterly impossible for the man to be here.

Binns looks exactly how he did when he was paralysed—his face impressively calm, with a look of resolve in his eyes. Voldemort had made all members that were in London at the time watch as Nagini fed on the man to show them what he did to people who belittled and sullied the Death Eaters, especially him. But that was nearly a month ago.

Sure, he has been waking up from nightmares of a snake swallowing him whole, but it had only been nightmares.

"Are you alright? It looks like you've seen a ghost," someone says.

For a moment, Draco feels fear rush through his voice before he remembers that he isn't alone in the compartment. He swallows thickly, shifting his focus from Binns to the stranger. The hairs on the back of neck stand as he feels Binns' eyes on him. He pushes that to the corner of his mind. "I'm fine."

"I'm going to take a shot in the dark and assume that's a lie," the man says. He gets up from where he's sitting and makes his way towards Draco. "Where are you coming from?"

He removes his hand from where it's hovering over the hidden pistol as covertly as possible. He keeps half of his attention on the stranger in front of him and Binns still staring at him. "Why are you asking?" he demands.

The redhead in front of him outright laughs. "It looks like you can use a distraction from whatever you're thinking about."

"I'm fine," he repeats firmer than before. He doesn't like how the man analysed him so easily. "So thanks but no thanks."

Instead of moving, the redhead rolls his eyes. "Personally, I'm heading back from Romania. My little sister is getting married soon and I can't miss that," he says as if Draco hadn't said anything at all.

His silence doesn't deter the redhead from talking. "It may be awful, but I'm ready to be back in Romania already and I haven't even arrived. I'm really not looking forward to my mum asking if I'm dating someone. I love her to death, but she doesn't understand that I can be happy without having a significant other."

Draco meets a pair of beautiful blue eyes. He didn't think the stranger could get even more gorgeous, but apparently he was wrong. No matter how gorgeous the redhead may be, there's a reason he doesn't interact with people beyond who he has to—less of a chance to get attached. If he's not attached to people, nobody could be used against him by his boss. But God, does he want to talk to the man in front of him, and he doesn't know why.

"The plus side is that I get to see my nieces and nephews. Skype is great and all, but nothing can compete with seeing them in person," he continues on, not caring whether Draco is contributing to the conversation.

There's a part of Draco that wants to scream that this man is being too open. This information can be used against him and it's not like he is noticing. The other part wants to hear more about this stranger's life. The one-sided conversation is distracting him from thinking about the way that Binns keeps staring at him.

The rest of the trip into London is filled with the stranger's deep voice as he talks about anything and everything—from his siblings, to his work at a zoo in Romania. When the train pulls into the station in London, Draco's book has remained untouched in his lap and he feels like the two hour trip went in a blink of the eye.

He's gathering his things as the man shifts nervously.

"Considering I just spent two hours talking to you, can I at least get a name?" he asks.

There's such a hopeful expression on the redhead's face that he can't bring himself to disappoint. "Draco," he answers. The moment his name leaves his lips, he panics. He didn't mean to tell a stranger his name. Fuck. What was he thinking?

The redhead beams at him. "Charlie Weasley," he tells Draco without prompting.

Dear god, this man is far too trusting. Draco's long since learned that to survive he could trust no one but himself.

"Well, I suppose I should—" he gestures to the exit. "My brother should be waiting for me. Hope that our paths cross again."

When the redhead leaves him alone, the knowledge of Binns still staring at him dominates his thoughts. He glances at the man and realizes exactly what is happening. His subconscious is reminding him what is more than likely awaiting him when he reports back to his boss. He stands there for a moment longer before he gathers his things and catches a cap to his flat.

Upon arriving home, Draco inspects his house, not trusting that his flat is secure after nearly a month. After he deems his flat secure, he goes through his nightly routine. He lays in bed, waiting for sleep, when his mind drifts back to Charlie. There's a fleeting moment of wishing that he could be as trusting as the other man. Charlie's clearly never experienced anything that would make him jaded, like he has.

If he wasn't in so deep with the Death Eaters, he wouldn't have minded finding out if those freckles covered Charlie's whole body. But Draco hasn't had a lover in years, not after Astoria had been tortured when he failed an assignment. He has long since gave up in believing a man as wicked as himself could ever deserve love.

That doesn't stop him from dreaming of blue eyes and freckled skin.

* * *

He's extremely lucky that Voldemort isn't in town when he goes to report in. His second-in-command—and Draco's Aunt—doesn't even acknowledge him when he arrives. That's never a good sign.

One of the other members, Theodore, comes up to him with a cup of coffee. Despite not liking the taste of it, he drains the cooled drink. This earns him a raised eyebrow from the other man. Then Theo leads him away from the main group.

"How was Paris?"

"Too warm," he answers.

Theo understands what he's not saying, which is why Draco likes him. "With how moody he's been, you'll more than likely become food," he whispers, not wanting to be overheard.

"Yes, thank you for your extremely helpful input," he says flatly. He still sees the ghost of Binns out the corner of his eyes, mocking him with the fate that could await him. That's the final breaking point. He doesn't want to keep living this lifestyle. He doesn't want to fear for his life every time that something doesn't go the way Voldemort wants.

He looks at Theo. The man in front of him is the person that he's gotten closest to another human since Astoria, and the Death Eaters know it. Him leaving could possibly lead to Theo's death. Not seeing another way, Draco suddenly attacks Theo, choking him until he's unconscious. He props Theo up as comfortable as he possibly could and makes his way out the back of the building. He needed it look like he was betraying the man in order to, hopefully, save his life.

He dumps his phone not even a block out. He knows that the Death Eaters have unrestricted access to the CCTV feed. He tries to avoid as many cameras as he can. He makes his way to his flat to pick up the things he'll need—clothes, his passport, money, and his gun. He risks a few moments to search for Charlie, to find the venue.

He books a few nights at the hotel where it appears the reception would be held in. After that, he completely destroys his computer and leaves, knowing that he would never return to London.

* * *

A big grin graces Charlie's face when he sees Draco, and Draco can't help but think the man is even more gorgeous when he smiles. "What a coincident!" he exclaims.

Draco resists the urge to say that it isn't one at all. "I thought you were supposed to be at a wedding."

"Ah, so you were listening to me," he says, his eyes sparkling.

There's an ache in his chest at the pleased look. He forces himself to give the man a soft smile. "Only a little."

"The reception is being held here," Charlie explains. He points behind Draco. "I just needed the loo."

Draco nods his understanding. Then Charlie does exactly what he predicts; he asks him how long he's staying. "Just until tomorrow. I have a train back Paris in the morning. From there, I haven't decided."

It feels so freeing to tell someone the truth.

Charlie grins. "You can always come to Romania. I could show you around Mures if you'd like."

The conversation goes in the exact direction he expects. Charlie leaves him with his number. The next day, Draco boards a train to Paris. From there, Romania. He's looking forward to what awaits him in Mures when Charlie gets home.

* * *

Meet cute: train

Character Appreciation: (Word) Snake Bite

Showtime: Finale - (word) Wicked

Days: Hedgehog Day - Write about someone who looks cute but is quite prickly or dangerous

Restriction: (character) Professor Binns

Liza's Loves: Godfather - Write a mafia AU

Library: The Godfather - (au) Mafia, (plot point) A wedding, (word) Favor

Cards: Texas Hold'em - write about two people stuck together

Insane: 669. Dialogue - "Yes, thank you for your input."

365: 136. First Line - It was a dark and stormy night.

Feb writing wc: 1855


	27. Dragons

Charlie looks up when he hears the door open, and the sight of the blond man in the doorway makes his mouth go dry. It takes Henrietta irritably nipping at his finger to remember that staring is rude. He runs a finger down her spine as an apology before he turns his attention back to the gorgeous blond.

"How can I help you?"

The other man is cradling a miniature dragon to his chest, almost protectively. It only increases Charlie's attraction to him. "Charlie Weasley?" he asks, his voice smooth.

He nods and swallows before answering. "I take it your dragon is a bit under the weather?"

The blond gingerly places the dragon on the counter next to Henrietta. As she's wary of new things, Henrietta backs away from the bright red dragon. "She's been sick a lot recently. I haven't been able to figure out what's going on. Someone suggested I bring her here."

"What's her name?" he asks, maneuvering himself to being eye level with the dragon. He meets her amber eyes.

"Amarya."

Charlie doesn't look away from her. After a few moments of eye contact, Amarya barely lowers her head, acknowledging the he means her no harm. When that's done, he hold his hand out and waits until she bumps it with her head.

When the dragon's trust is earned, Charlie scoops her up. "Let's see if we can't figure out what's going on. What do you say, Amarya?"

She gives him a huff of hot air and tries to curl up to sleep. Charlie retrieves his wand and starts going through testing. This is what he loves most about his job. He gets to help and care for miniature dragons. When the test results pop up, he can't help but laugh as he goes back up to the front.

The blond looks a little annoyed to see him laughing. Charlie places Amarya on the counter, where the dragon goes to try to inspect Henrietta.

"Well, Mr—"

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," he supplies. He's watching his dragon carefully as Henrietta continues to back away.

Charlie grins. "There's nothing wrong with her. She's healthy. The pox that she had weakened her wings a bit, but that's nothing to worry about; she still has a little bit of growing to do, and those wings will strengthen."

"But she's been sick!" Draco exclaims.

He watches as Henrietta huffs at Amarya. He swoops her up to avoid potential issues and allows her to curl around his neck, her tail and head curled around his shoulders. He runs a finger down Amarya's spine as she preens. "She's faking it."

There's several long moments of silence until Draco blinks rapidly and asks, "Excuse me?"

"Dragons are intelligent and sly creatures. You probably babied her while she was sick. She liked it and pretended to be sick a second time to see if it would give the same results. When it did, she just would pretend to be sick when she wanted to be babied," Charlie explains cheerfully.

Draco looks down at the dragon who is still preening under Charlie's attention. He picks up his dragon. "I can't believe you!"

"I've seen a dragon do it before," Charlie assures him. "It honestly not that uncommon for dragons. There are some spells that you can use to determine whether they're faking it."

Amarya doesn't even look apologetic as she looks back at Charlie. Draco sighs as he shifts her in his arms. "What do I owe you?"

Charlie shakes his head. "Nothing. I don't charge when they're faking."

"You still took time out to look at her," the blond protests.

He rolls his eyes. "It's honestly not a big deal. Everything's been pretty quiet today."

"Well, if it's quiet, why don't you join me for drinks at the Leaky Cauldron tonight?"

Charlie typically has a 'no dating clients' policy, but Draco isn't technically his client. Dear Merlin, he'd have to be a fool to dismiss an invite from the blond.

"I've got to give Henrietta her food, but I can meet you there in half an hour," he says.

"I should probably take this faker home," Draco says, scowling half-heartedly when Amarya nudges at his shoulder. "I'll see you in half an hour then."

Charlie watches as the blond disappears through his office door. He spells the sign the flip to closed and goes about his usual evening routine. He scratches under Henrietta's chin after he's detangled her from around his neck to keep her from huffing.

He sets out the food and puts Henrietta in her area. She circles around her bed a little bit before blowing fire to warm it. She lays down contently.

When he's satisfied that Henrietta has everything she needs, he Apparates to the closest zone. He stands relatively still as he waits for the nausea to pass. The Leaky Cauldron is busy at half five, but it's pretty easy to spot Draco. He wasn't expecting his day to end with a date with a gorgeous blond, but he isn't complaining.

* * *

Meet cute: dragons

Cards: Rummy - write a slash/femslash pairing

Insane: 744. Job - Dragonologist

365: 362. Word - Sly

Feb writing month: 840


	28. Instagram

One of the stipulations McGonagall implemented as the Headmistress is requiring all Purebloods to take Muggle Studies, while simultaneously requiring all Muggleborns to take a Wizarding Studies class. Draco hates the idea, but after barely escaping an Azkaban sentence, he wants to become a Healer, to help instead of destroy. And unlike the Aurors who are waiving N.E.W.T.s requirements, St Mungo's understandably can't.

So Draco has to suffer through Muggle Studies once a week with the third year Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, and the other Pureblood eighth years. He's the only Pureblood eighth year Slytherin at Hogwarts, but thankfully Padma Patil and Terry Boot, from Ravenclaw, and Susan Bones, from Hufflepuff return as well. By the first Hogsmeade weekend, the Muggle Studies teacher, Professor MacEwens—not Professor Burbage who Draco watched die—decides that since the eighth years are of legal age, a weekend trip into London would be useful in their course.

She arranges a trip for them, through the Floo network, to Diagon Alley so they can exchange their money for Muggle money. Draco's never touched Muggle money before. It's so much different than wizarding money. After all of them have exchanged the money, they head to the Leaky Cauldron where they then access Muggle London.

Professor MacEwens have them buy cheap flip phones, that apparently do the same thing as Floo-ing someone—minus the sticking your head in the fire and hoping you weren't set on fire—or Owling. Draco is, admittedly, mildly impressed with it. The ability to get an answer almost immediately is much better than writing letters and waiting hours or days for replies.

After the phone company, they make their way to a local internet shop. There are rows of computers. She had lectured the week before about the internet and its abilities and how its shaping Muggle's lives. They buy time and go to grab a computer.

At one of the computers is a redhead, and Draco can recognize a Weasley almost anywhere. He's shorter than the other Weasleys he's seen, not including Ginny, but he's much tanner than his siblings and has more freckles. It's very easy to compare then. And if it isn't for the fact that there's really no reason for Draco not to be at school at this moment, he'd think the Weasley is following him.

Weasley stands, and heads to leave. Draco can pinpoint the exact moment that Weasley pieces everything together. He gives a bright smile as he approaches. "Muggle Studies expedition?" he asks.

His question seems to ease Professor MacEwens, and then Terry sticks his hand out for a fist bump—yes, Draco did read the textbook, only out of sheer boredom—that Weasley returns. "Good to see you, Terry."

"I see that you're quite proficient at a computer, Mr—"

"Charlie Weasley," the redhead answers quickly. "A friend of mine married a Muggle. He uses a computer often. Even has one of those fancy phones that can have apps and stuff. They're constantly using Instagram to share pictures of their daughter with his parents." Realizing he's babbling, Charlie shrugs. "I picked up a thing or two."

Draco's surprised by the lack of annoyance he feels when the man rambles. In fact, he looks kind of cute when he talks animatedly. When Draco realizes what he just thought, he shuts it down immediately. He isn't going to continue thinking about the redhead.

The Professor nods at that. "I haven't had the chance to really explore Instagram with the lesson planning. Isn't that similar to Twitter?"

"Kinda but not really. I have a plenty of time. I could show all of you Instagram," Charlie offers.

Draco resists the urge to groan when the Professor accepts the offer. So the five of them gather around a computer in a corner where there weren't many people. The redhead navigates the internet expertly. Within a few moments, Charlie's pulled up Instagram and has logged in.

A picture of a woman with blonde hair is the very first thing that pops up. "My friend," he explains. "We work at the Romanian Reserve together."

The redhead navigates the site as he explains each section and what it does. He talks about how they could get an app that does basically the same thing on some really expensive Muggle phones. After he's done with his walkthrough, he gives them a bright smile and heads wherever he was going in the first place. After he leaves, Professor MacEwens gives similar walkthroughs of what she calls other 'social media sites'.

After that is gone over, she walks them through how emails work, and how they were used in order to use other parts of the internet. Then they split and are assigned to create an email and then pick one social media site to create a profile.

Draco sits at the computer. None of the sites that they were shown really interests him. He resists the urge to sigh. It's slow going, but Draco manages to make an email address—dragonlord1000 —and then somehow manages to get onto Instagram instead of Twitter. It had involved a lot of clicking and, well, since he was already there, he decides to just make an account on there.

It takes him much longer to create an account on there—he settles for Dracones this time. When he shows his progress to the Professor, she gives him a smile and then instructed him continue exploring the site. He clicks buttons on the site until it takes him to a page where Charlie Weasley's account is staring back at him.

He frowns at the computer. How the hell would it even know Draco would possibly know the redhead? He was told that the Muggles couldn't use magic. How could they know? He contemplates this question as he purposefully avoiding Charlie Weasley's account.

No, he doesn't want to look through the account to see what pictures he posts.

* * *

Meet cute: I saw one of the cutest boys I've ever seen in my life today. I got home and she came up on my Instagram explore page. Say what you want about the FBI guy watching me through my phone - but he's my friend now.

Character Appreciation: (School subject) Muggle Studies

365: 52. Class - Muggle Studies

Insane: 521. Action - Helping

Writing month wc: 983


	29. Bonus: bank robbery take 2

Charlie would rather be hibernating, like the bears at the zoo he works at, than standing in line at Gringotts. He just needs to pull out some money for the poker game with his coworkers tonight. It just so happens that he's there at the most inopportune time; it looks like everybody and their brother are trying to withdraw money, and here he is thinking it would be quick since it's after Christmas.

Apparently not because the line is slow going, and Charlie's phone is dead, which means he has nothing to keep himself occupied while he waits. The only blessing is that he's shielded from the snowy weather. He keeps himself entertained by studying the bank. Gringotts is the oldest bank in London; it has white marble floors and pillars. The desks are a mix of mahogany hardwood tables and marble tops.

He fidgets as he stands in line, a little too anxious to get out of there. Judging by the clock on the wall, there's a chance he might have missed the first round. Of course, when he's the next in line, he hears a person yell, "Freeze, everyone down! This is a robbery!"

Chaos ensues the next few moments; there are people crying and begging and the robbers keep ordering them down. As Charlie goes to get down, biting back a groan at his rotten luck, he feels an arm around his waist, pulling him backward, flush against the person. Something round and cold presses to his temple.

And, well, as usual, Charlie's mouth starts to run before his brain can remind him to keep quiet. "I would ask if that's a gun in your pocket or if you're just happy to see me, but the gun's not in your pocket."

His words take everyone, including himself, by surprise. He can hear a person mutter, "You're really gonna do that now? Really?"

The man who has the gun to Charlie's head sounds just as stunned as the other hostage when he hisses, "Do you have a death wish?"

"Honestly, it would save me from my mum's fussing when she finds out," he answers, shuddering. There's not much he fears, but his mum when there's serious threat to her children's life? He'd be a fool not to fear that.

"You—what?" It feels like time stops while his captor tries to understand his line of reasoning. It's fair, he supposes; he doesn't know how he'd react if he was in the robber's shoes.

The other robber calls, "Shit. Time!"

The gun is pulled away from his head and he's shoved forward, hard. He stumbles to get his balance while the person who held him calls out, "Stay down!"

Charlie stands rooted in place until the police enter the bank for a rescue. And all he can think about is how much his mum is going to fuss about him. As he goes to leave, still trying to come up with the best way to say, "I'm fine, Mum.", he pats his pockets for his keys. He feels his keys, but not his wallet.

 _Son of a bitch._ What are the odds that he'd get pickpocketed while being held hostage during a bank robbery?

* * *

The only thing that Charlie likes about winter is ice skating. He grabs his phone from the couch, slings his skates over his shoulder, before he locks up. The park isn't too far from his flat. He can't take public transit because his card was in wallet and he didn't even end up withdrawing money two days ago.

At least it isn't snowing hard, only a few snowflakes here and there. He starts to walk when he hears his name being called. He freezes; he remembers that voice _very_ clearly.

A blond man comes to stand in front of him, holding out Charlie's wallet. It seems to spur him into action. He digs his phone out of his pocket, dialing 999. Before he can hit the button, Charlie tilts his head slightly and puts his phone away. He's more intrigued at this move than he is about calling the police.

"You got away on Friday. Why would you personally bring me my wallet?"

The blond does a flicking motion with Charlie's wallet, as if he's silently asking him to take it again. "I don't have an answer for that. Why aren't you calling the police?"

"I'm curious," he answers, taking his wallet. The blond rolls his eyes when he checks to see if everything is there. He really isn't surprised that everything is, including his cash. He steps around the man. "Come on."

"What?"

When he glances over his shoulder, the blond is wearing a very confused look. "I'm obviously not going to stand in the middle of a street for hours when I can be skating. But I told you I was curious. So come on. You're going to explain to me why you held a gun to my head two days ago, and I'll decide after if I want to call the police or not."

"For the power rush," the man answers, monotoned.

Charlie snorts. "You want to try that again?"

"You think you're an expert at my motives, do you?"

"No, but if it was for power rush, you wouldn't have chanced bringing me back the wallet you took," he replies. Before the other man can counter, he asks, "And how about you tell me your name?"

Charlie is mildly surprised when the other man says, "Draco." There's hesitation before he adds, "Malfoy."

He whistles. He would have to live under a rock not to recognize the surname given there's a huge tower adjourn with it not too far from the zoo. "So why would a Malfoy resort to stealing?"

Draco grimaces, shoving his hands into his pocket. "It's because we had no other choice. Or at least it felt like it."

Before he can be asked, he starts talking about how he had realized that he was gay and that his parents didn't take the news very well, going as far as disowning him. There was little that his father would allow him to take, but having anticipated the reaction, he saved all the money he could after his self-discovery.

Charlie can't imagine being in that situation. His parents had expressed their acceptance with hugging and soft words. He supposes each coming out story is unique in their own way.

He tells Charlie about living with his best friends. And then how Blaise broke his leg when a car hit him. It had lead to Blaise being out of work, and rent being due. Theo got laid off as well, while he was trying to help Blaise. Him and Theo devised a plan to make ends meet.

Then he shrugs. "Theo got the guns. I didn't ask, but I didn't let him load them. I didn't want to be responsible for that."

"It still doesn't make it right, holding an unloaded gun to my head," Charlie replies mildly. He takes a seat on the bench. He's long forgotten that he started this journey wanting to ice skate on his day off.

"No, it doesn't," Draco agrees, sitting next to him.

"You're not defending your actions," he points out.

"Why would I? I knew they were wrong, but it the only solution we had at the time."

Charlie lets the silence settle between them as he watches families skating, smiling and enjoying the winter wonderland. He can understand Draco's reasoning for the robbery.

"Why'd you take my wallet?"

Draco actually gives him a half-smile. "I wanted to know who you were. Lifting your wallet was the easiest way to find out."

He looks at Draco. "Why did you give it back? The real answer this time."

"You were stupidly brave," he answers, shrugging again.

"You risked freedom because you liked that I said the first thing that came to mind."

"I never said it was a good reason," Draco tells him. He looks Charlie up and down very pointedly. "Well, a good reason to you. It just felt right."

Charlie's thankful the bitter weather hides his blush. And again, his mouth starts talking before he can stop it. "If your roommate is still needing a job, there's a position at the zoo I work out open. I can put in a word."

The other man eyes flicker across Charlie's face, reading him for a moment. "So you're not going to call the police?"

"I didn't think you would have an objection," he says.

Draco laughs for a moment before sombering. "No, I don't have an objection. I'm just surprised that you'd be willing to help after I held an unloaded gun to your head."

Charlie shrugs. "I'm a forgiving person. My older brother always told me that it would come to bite me. I mean, that doesn't mean that all is forgotten; I'm not particularly fond of guns being held to my head, loaded or not. But I can't exactly fault you for seeing no other solution."

The other man stands, giving Charlie a nod. "I'll let Theo know about the job at the zoo."

Charlie watches him walk away before he pulls on his skates.

Years later he would look back on the moment in the bank. He never really thought he would find love in that way. He'll never tell his family the real story of how he met Draco, but that's okay. He's still happy.

* * *

Meet cute: bank robbery, wc 168

Bootcamp: Rotten

Fairies: Winter - Snow, White, Cold, Snowflake, Unique, Winter, Freeze, Wonderland, Ice Skating, Hibernate

(600 words) Days: Gay Pride: Write Slash/Femmeslash

Colors: Mahogany

Shay's musical: 40. write about doing something dangerous to achieve your goal.

Gryffindor: Charlie Weasley

Star chart: (word) Rescue

Balloon: (Dialogue) "You're really gonna do that? Really?"

Eagle: Marietta Edgecombe: (word) defend, (emotion) fear

Chocolate Frogs: (Gold) Gringotts

365: 282. (Song) Iris [And I'd give up forever to touch you /'Cause I know that you feel me somehow /You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be]

Insane: 510. Action - Stealing

Character Appreciation: 15. (plot point) Not being able to follow through with a task [bonus]

Disney: T3 - Write about someone finding love unexpectedly.

Book Club: Governor Dragna: (word) fear, (word) power, (food) plum

Showtime: 1. Charlie Weasley

Buttons: D3. "It's because we have no other choice."

Lyrics: 4. Of having hope in this insanity

Lo's Lowdown: C3. emotion: exasperated.


End file.
